®rje  library 

of  tftc 

ZHnibergitpot*  J?ortf)  Carolina 


Carnegie  Corporation  Jfunb 

for 

Snsitructton  tn  1 


C  . 


c#2 


076 


3  dlock 
Eastern  stories  and  legends 


«   i 


UNIVERSITY  OF  N.C.  AT  CHAPEL  HILL 


00022229125 


This  BOOK 

may  be  kept  out  TWO  WEEKS  . 

ONLY,    and    is    subject    to    a    fine    of    FIVE 

CENTS  a  day  thereafter.   It  was  taken  out  on 

. 

the  day  indicated  below: 

4Aug43LS 
*UG2  2*4? 

4-1  )^A* 
&*  to 

tJUL  1  4  '4S 

rREC 

i 

9 

SJPiVi 

* 

Lib.  lOM-Fe  '38 

EASTERN  STORIES 
AND  LEGENDS 


Eastern    Stories 
and   Legends 

BYl 

MARIE  L.  SHEDLOCK 

FOREWORD   BY 
PROF.  T.  W.  RHYS  DAVIDS 

INTRODUCTION  BY 
ANNIE  CARROLL  MOORE 

OF  THE   NEW   YORK   PUBLIC   LIBRABY 


NEW  YORK 

E.  P.  DUTTON  &  COMPANY 

681  FIFTH  AVENUE 


Copyright,  1920, 
BI   E.  P.  DUTTON  &  COMPANY 


All  Rights  Reserved 


Printed  In  the  United  States  of  America 


J 

est 


FOREWORD 


I  RECOLLECT  riding  late  one  night  along 
the  high-road  from  Galle  to  Colombo.  The 
road  skirts  the  shore.  On  the  left  hand  the 
long  breakers  of  the  Indian  Ocean  broke  in 
ripples  on  the  rocks  in  the  many  little  bays. 
On  the  right  an  endless  vista  of  tall  cocoanut 
palms  waved  their  top-knots  over  a  park-like 
expanse  of  grass,  and  the  huts  of  the  peasantry 
were  visible  here  and  there  beneath  the  trees. 
In  the  distance  a  crowd  had  gathered  on  the 
sward,  either  seated  on  the  grass  or  leaning 
against  the  palms.  I  turned  aside — no  road 
was  wanted — to  see  what  brought  them  there 
that  moonlight  night. 

The  villagers  had  put  an  oval  platform 
under  the  trees.  On  it  were  seated  yellow 
robed  monks  with  palm-leaf  books  on  their 
laps.  One  was  standing  and  addressing  the 
folk,  who  were  listening  to  Bana,  that   is 

vii 

r- 
P 

""3 


viii  FOREWORD 

"The  Word" — discourses,  dialogues,  legends, 
or  stories  from  the  Pali  Canon.  The  stores 
were  the  well-known  Birth-stories,  that  is  the 
fancient  fables  and  fairy-tales  common  to  the 
Aryan  race  which  had  been  consecrated,  as 
it  were,  by  the  hero  in  each,  whether  man  or 
animal,  being  identified  with  the  Buddha  in 
a  former  birth.  To  these  wonderful  stories 
the  simple  peasantry,  men,  women  and  chil- 
dren, clad  in  their  best  and  brightest,  listen 
the  livelong  night  with  unaffected  delight/ 
chatting  pleasantly  now  and  again  with  their 
neighbors;  rising  quietly  and  leaving  for  a 
time,  and  returning  at  their  will,  and  indulging 
all  the  while  in  the  mild  narcotic  of  the  betel- 
leaf,  their  stores  of  which  afford  a  constant 
occasion  for  acts  of  polite  good-fellowship. 
Neither  preachers  nor  hearers  may  have  that 
deep  sense  of  evil  in  the  world  and  in  them- 
selves, nor  that  high  resolve  to  battle  with  and 
overcome  it,  which  animated  some  of  the  first 
disciples.  They  all  think  they  are  earning 
"merit"  by  their  easy  service.  But  there  is  at 
least,  at  these  full-moon  festivals,  a  genuine 
feeling  of  human  kindness,  in  harmony  alike 


FOREWORD  k 

with  the  teachings  of  Gotama  and  with  the 
gentle  beauty  of  those  moonlit  scenes.1 

It  is  not  only  under  the  palm  groves  of 
the  South  that  these  stories  are  a  perennial 
delight.  Wherever  Buddhism  has  gone  they 
have  gone  with  it.  They  are  known  and  loved 
on  the  plains  of  Central  Asia,  in  the  valleys 
of  Kashmir  and  Afghanistan,  on  the  cold 
tablelands  of  Nepal,  Tartary  and  Tibet, 
through  the  vast  regions  of  India  and  China, 
in  the  islands  of  Japan  and  the  Malay  archi- 
pelago, and  throughout  the  jungles  of  Siam 
and  Annam. 

And  not  only  so.  Soldiers  of  Alexander 
who  had  settled  in  the  East,  wandering  mer- 
chants of  many  nations  and  climes,  crusading 
knights  and  hermits  who  had  mixed  with 
Eastern  folk,  brought  the  stories  from  East/ 
to  West.  They  were  very  popular  in  Europe 
in  the  Middle  Ages;  and  were  used,  more  es- 
pecially by  the  clergy,  as  the  subjects  of  nu- 
merous homilies,  romances,  anecdotes,  poems 
and  edifying  plays  and  mysteries.  The  char- 
acter of  the  hero  of  them  in  his  last  or  formef 

i8e»  Rhys  Davids'  Buddhism  (S.P.C.K.),  pp.  57,  58. 


x  FOREWORD 

births  appealed  so  strongly  to  the  sympathies, 
and  especially  to  the  religious  sympathies,  of 
medieval  Christians  that  the  Buddha  (under 
another  name)  was  included,  and  has  ever 
since  remained,  in  the  list  of  canonized  saints 
both  in  the  Roman  and  Greek  Churches;  and 
a  collection  of  these  and  similar  stories — 
wrongly  but  very  naturally  ascribed  to  a  fa- 
mous story-teller  of  the  ancient  Greeks — has 
become  the  common  property,  the  household 
literature,  of  all  the  nations  of  Europe;  and, 
under  the  name  of  iEsop's  Fables,  has  handed 
down,  as  a  first  moral  lesson-book  for  our 
children  in  the  West,  tales  first  invented  to 
please  and  to  instruct  our  far-off  cousins  in 
the  distant  East. 

So  the  story  of  the  migration  of  the  stories 
is  the  most  marvelous  story  of  them  all.1  And, 
strange  to  say,  in  spite  of  the  enormous  out- 
pouring of  more  modern  tales,  these  old  ones 
have  not,  even  yet,  lost  their  charm.  I  used 
to  tell  them  by  the  hour  together,  to  mixed 

1  For  the  details  of  this  story  the  introduction  to  my 
Buddhist  Birth  Stories  may  be  consulted;  and  for  the  history 
of  the  Jatakas  in  India  the  chapter  on  that  subject  in  my 
Buddhist  India. 


FOREWORD  xi 

audiences,  and  never  found  them  fail.  Out  of 
the  many  hundred  Birth-stories  there  are  only 
a  small  proportion  that  are  suitable  for  chil- 
dren. Miss  Shedlock,  so  well  known  on  both 
sides  of  the  Atlantic  for  her  skill  and  judg- 
ment in  this  regard,  has  selected  those  she 
deems  most  suitable;  and,  so  far  as  I  can 
judge,  has  succeeded  very  admirably  in  adapt- 
ing them  for  the  use  of  children  and  of  teachers 
alike.  Much  depends,  no  doubt,  upon  the  tell- 
ing. Could  Miss  Shedlock  herself  be  the  teller, 
there  would  be  little  doubt  of  the  success.  But 
I  know  from  my  own  experience  that  less  able 
story-tellers  have  no  cause  at  all  to  be  dis- 
couraged. 

The  reason  is,  indeed,  not  far  to  seek.  The 
stories  are  not  ordinary  ones.  It  is  not  on 
sharpness  of  repartee,  or  on  striking  incidents, 
that  their  charm  depends.  These  they  have 
sometimes.  But  their  attraction  lies  rather  in 
a  unique  mixture  of  subtle  humor,  cunning 
make-belief,  and  earnestness;  in  the  piquancy 
of  the  contrast  between  the  humorous  incon- 
gruities and  impossibilities  of  the  details,  and 
the  real  serious  earnestness,  never  absent  but 


xii  FOREWORD 

always  latent,  of  the  ethical  tone.  They  never 
raise  a  boisterous  laugh:  only  a  quiet  smile  of 
delighted  appreciation ;  and  they  leave  a  pleas- 
ant aroma  behind  them.  To  the  child-mind 
the  impossibilities  are  no  impossibilities  at  all, 
they  are  merely  delightful.  And  these  quaint 
old-world  stories  will  continue  to  appeal  to 
children,  young  and  old,  as  they  have  done,  the 
world  over,  through  the  long  centuries  of  the 
past. 

T.  W.  Rhys  Davids. 


EDITOR'S    PREFACE 

These  stories  of  the  Buddha-Rebirths  are 
not  for  one  age  or  for  one  country,  but  for 
all  time,  and  for  the  whole  world.  Their  phi- 
losophy might  be  incorporated  into  the  tenets 
of  faith  of  a  League  of  Nations  without  de- 
stroying any  national  forms  of  religious  teach- 
ing. On  the  other  hand  those  who  prefer  the 
foundation  of  more  orthodox  views  will  be 
astonished  to  find  their  ethics  are  identical  with 
many  of  those  inculcated  in  the  stories:  here 
we  find  condemnation  of  hypocrisy,  cruelty, 
selfishness,  and  vice  of  every  kind  and  a  con- 
stant appeal  to  Love,  Pity,  Honesty,  loftiness 
of  purpose  and  breadth  of  vision.  And  should 
we  reject  such  teachings  because  they  were 
given  to  the  World  more  than  2,000  years  ago? 
Since  it  is  wise  to  take  into  consideration  the 
claims  and  interests  of  the  passing  hour  it  is 
well  to  re-introduce  these  stories  at  a  moment 


xiv  EDITOR'S  PREFACE 

when,  perhaps  more  than  ever  before,  East 
and  West  are  struggling  to  arrive  at  a  clearer 
understanding  of  one  another. 

In  Tagore's  essay  on  the  relation  of  the  In- 
dividual to  the  Universe,  he  says :  "In  the  West 
the  prevalent  feeling  is  that  Nature  belongs 
exclusively  to  inanimate  things  and  to  beasts; 
that  there  is  a  sudden  unaccountable  break 
where  human  nature  begins.  According  to  it, 
everything  that  is  low  in  the  scale  of  beings  is 
merely  nature,  and  whatever  has  the  stamp  of 
perfection  on  it,  intellectual  or  moral,  is  hu- 
man nature.  It  is  like  dividing  the  bud  and 
the  blossom  into  two  separate  categories  and 
putting  their  grace  to  the  credit  of  two  dif- 
ferent and  antithetical  principles.  But  the  In- 
dian mind  never  has  any  hesitation  in  acknowl- 
edging its  kinship  with  nature,  its  unbroken 
relation  with  all." 

This  is  perhaps  the  best  summing  up  of  the 
value  of  this  collection.  Since  the  publication 
of  the  book  in  1910,  I  have  had  many  oppor- 
tunities of  testing  the  value  of  the  dramatic 
appeal  in  these  stories  both  for  adults  and  boys 
and  girls  of  adolescent  age.    When  presented 


EDITOR'S  PREFACE  xv 

at  this  impressionable  period,  the  inner  mean- 
ing will  sink  more  deeply  into  their  minds  than 
the  same  truths  presented  in  a  more  direct 
and  didactic  fashion. 

I  am  greatly  indebted  to  Professor  Rhys 
Davids,  not  only  because  he  has  placed  the 
material  of  his  translations  from  the  Pali  at 
my  disposal,  but  also  because  of  his  unfailing 
kindness  and  help  in  directing  my  work.  I 
am  fortunate  to  have  had  the  restraining  in- 
fluence of  so  great  a  scholar  so  that  I  might  not 
lose  the  Indian  atmosphere  and  line  of  thought 
which  is  of  such  value  in  these  stories. 

I  most  gratefully  acknowledge  my  indebt- 
edness to  the  Cambridge  Press,  by  whose  cour- 
tesy I  have  been  able  to  include  several  of 
the  stories  published  in  their  volumes. 

I  present  here  a  selection  from  over  500 
stories. 

Marie  L.  Shedlock. 
Cambridge,  Massachusetts. 


CONTENTS 


FiGE 

1.    The  Hare  that  ran  away 1 

8 
13 
19 
27 
35 
41 


2.  The  Monkey  and  the  Crocodile  i^\ 

3.  The  Spirit  that  lived  in  a  Tree 

4.  The  Hare  that  was  not  afraid  to  die 

5.  The  Parrot  that  fed  his  Parents     . 

6.  The  Man  who  worked  to  give  Alms 

7.  The  King  who  saw  the  Truth 

8.  The  Bull  that  demanded  fair  Treatment      49 

9.  The  Bull  that  proved  his  Gratitude  .      57 

10.  The  Horse  that  held  out  to  the  End   .       63 

11.  The  Monkey  that  saved  the  Herd   .     .       71 

12.  The  Mallard  that  asked  for  too  much      77 

13.  The  Merchant  who  overcame  all  Obsta- 

cles     81 

14.  The  Elephant  that  was  honored  in  Old 

Age 87 

15.  The  Faithful  Friend 93 

16.  The  Hawk  and  the  Osprey      ....       99 

17.  Grandmother's  golden  Dish^"    .     .     .     107 

18.  The  Elephant  that  spared  Life^*-'   .     .     115 

19.  How  the  Antelope  was  caught    .     .     .     123 

20.  The  Banyan  Deer 129 

21.  The  Pupil  who  taught  his  Teacher  t^-.     139 


xviii  CONTENTS 

22.  The  Man  who  told  a  Lie   . 

23.  The  Crow  that  thought  it  knew 

24.  The  Judas  Tree 

25.  The  River-fish  and  the  Money 

26.  The  Dreamer  in  the  Wood 

27.  The  Rice  Measure    .... 

28.  The  Poisonous  Trees     . 

29.  The  well-trained  Elephant    . 
SO.  The  wise  Physician  .... 


PAGE 

145 
153 
159 
163 
171 
175 
183 
189 
197 


\ 


INTRODUCTION 

TO  this  new  and  enlarged  edition  of  East- 
ern Stories  and  Legends,  Miss  Shedlock 
has  brought  years  of  dramatic  experience  in 
the  telling  of  stories  to  children  and  grown 
people  in  England  and  America,  and  united 
with  it  a  discriminating  selection  from  the 
work  of  a  great  Oriental  scholar. 

The  result  is  a  book  of  intrinsic  merit  for 
the  general  reading  of  children  and  of  great 
practical  value  to  all  who  are  concerned  with 
moral  or  ethical  training. 

"I  feel  a  great  joy  in  what  these  stories  can 
unconsciously  bring  to  the  reader,"  says  Miss 
Shedlock  in  a  personal  letter,  "the  mere  living 
among  the  stories  for  the  past  few  weeks  has 
given  me  a  sense  of  calm  and  permanence 
which  it  is  difficult  to  maintain  under  present 
outward  conditions." 

I  have  observed  with  growing  interest,  ex- 


xx  INTRODUCTION 

tending  over  a  period  of  years,  the  effect  of 
such  stories  as  "The  Folly  of  Panic"  and  "The 
Tree  Spirit"  upon  audiences  of  adolescent 
boys  and  girls  in  the  public  schools,  public  li- 
braries, social  settlements,  Sunday  schools  and 
private  schools,  I  have  visited  with  Miss  Shed- 
lock.  There  is  in  Miss  Shedlock's  rendering 
something  more  than  a  suggestion  of  kinship 
with  Nature  and  the  attributes  of  animal  life. 
The  story  is  told  in  an  atmosphere  of  spiritual 
actuality  remote  from  our  everyday  experience 
yet  confirming  its  eternal  truths. 

My  familiarity  with  the  earlier  edition  of 
Eastern  Stories  and  Legends  and  my  personal 
introduction  of  "The  True  Spirit  of  a  Festi- 
val Day"  and  other  stories  to  audiences  of 
parents  and  teachers,  enables  me  to  speak  with 
confidence  of  the  value  of  the  book  in  an  en- 
larged and  more  popular  form. 

In  rearranging  and  expanding  her  selec- 
tion of  stories  Miss  Shedlock  has  wisely  freed 
the  book  from  limitations  which  gave  it  too 
much  the  appearance  of  a  text  book.  In  so  do- 
ing she  has  preserved  the  classical  rendering 
of  her  earlier  work.    Her  long  experience  as 


INTRODUCTION  2nd 

a  teacher  and  story-teller  in  England  and 
America  informs  her  notes  and  arouses  in  the 
mature  reader  a  fresh  sense  of  the  "power  to 
educate"  which  rises  out  of  all  great  literature 
at  the  touch  of  a  true  interpreter. 

July  14,  1920. 


THE  HARE  THAT  RAN  AWAY 


THE  HARE  THAT  RAN  AWAY 

AND  it  came  to  pass  that  the  Buddha  (to 
be)  was  born  again  as  a  Lion.  Just  as 
he  had  helped  his  fellow-men,  he  now  began 
to  help  his  fellow-animals,  and  there  was  a 
great  deal  to  be  done.  For  instance,  there  was 
a  little  nervous  Hare  who  was  always  afraid 
that  something  dreadful  was  going  to  happen 
to  her.  She  was  always  saying:  "Suppose  the 
Earth  were  to  fall  in,  what  would  happen  to 
me?"  And  she  said  this  so  often  that  at  last 
she  thought  it  really  was  about  to  happen. 
One  day,  when  she  had  been  saying  over  and 
over  again,  "Suppose  the  Earth  were  to  fall  in, 
what  would  happen  to  me?"  she  heard  a  slight 
noise:  it  really  was  only  a  heavy  fruit  which 
had  fallen  upon  a  rustling  leaf,  but  the  little 
Hare  was  so  nervous  she  was  ready  to  believe 
anything,  and  she  said  in  a  frightened  tone: 
"The  Earth  is  falling  in."  She  ran  away  as 
fast  as  she  could  go,  and  presently  she  met  an 

3 


4  EASTERN  STORIES 

old  brother  Hare,  who  said:  "Where  are  you 
running  to,  Mistress  Hare?" 

And  the  little  Hare  said :  "I  have  no  time  to 
stop  and  tell  you  anything.  The  Earth  is  fall- 
ing in,  and  I  am  running  away." 

"The  Earth  is  falling  in,  is  it?"  said  the  old 
brother  Hare,  in  a  tone  of  much  astonishment ; 
and  he  repeated  this  to  his  brother  hare,  and  he 
to  his  brother  hare,  and  he  to  his  brother  hare, 
until  at  last  there  were  a  hundred  thousand 
brother  hares,  all  shouting:  "The  Earth  is 
falling  in."  Now  presently  the  bigger  animals 
began  to  take  the  cry  up.  First  the  deer,  and 
then  the  sheep,  and  then  the  wild  boar,  and 
then  the  buffalo,  and  then  the  camel,  and  then 
the  tiger,  and  then  the  elephant. 

Now  the  wise  Lion  heard  all  this  noise  and 
wondered  at  it.  "There  are  no  signs,"  he  said, 
"of  the  Earth  falling  in.  They  must  have 
heard  something."  And  then  he  stopped  them 
all  short  and  said:  "What  is  this  you  are  say- 
ing?" 

And  the  Elephant  said:  "I  remarked  that 
the  Earth  was  falling  in." 

"How  do  you  know  this  ?"  asked  the  Lion. 


THE  HARE  THAT  RAN  AWAY      5 

"Why,  now  I  come  to  think  of  it,  it  was  the 
Tiger  that  remarked  it  to  me." 

And  the  Tiger  said:  "I  had  it  from  the 
Camel,"  and  the  Camel  said:  "I  had  it  from 
the  Buffalo."  And  the  buffalo  from  the  wild 
boar,  and  the  wild  boar  from  the  sheep,  and 
the  sheep  from  the  deer,  and  the  deer  from 
the  hares,  and  the  Hares  said:  "Oh!  we  heard 
it  from  that  little  Hare." 

And  the  Lion  said :  "Little  Hare,  what  made 
you  say  that  the  Earth  was  falling  in?" 

And  the  little  Hare  said:  "I  saw  it." 

"You  saw  it?"  said  the  Lion.    "Where?" 

"Yonder,  by  the  tree." 

"Well,"  said  the  Lion,  "come  with  me  and 
I  will  show  you  how " 

"No,  no,"  said  the  Hare,  "I  would  not  go 
near  that  tree  for  anything,  I'm  so  nervous." 

"But,"  said  the  Lion,  "I  am  going  to  take 
you  on  my  back."  And  he  took  her  on  his 
back,  and  begged  the  animals  to  stay  where 
they  were  until  they  returned.  Then  he 
showed  the  little  Hare  how  the  fruit  had  fallen 
upon  the  leaf,  making  the  noise  that  had  fright- 
ened her,   and  she  said:     "Yes,   I   see — the 


6  EASTERN  STORIES 

Earth  is  not  falling  in."  And  the  Lion  said: 
"Shall  we  go  back  and  tell  the  other  animals?" 
And  they  went  back.  The  little  Hare  stood 
before  the  animals  and  said:  "The  Earth  is 
not  falling  in."  And  all  the  animals  began  to 
repeat  this  to  one  another,  and  they  dispersed 
gradually,  and  you  heard  the  words  more  and 
more  softly: 

"The  Earth  is  not  falling  in,"  etc.,  etc.,  etc., 
until  the  sound  died  away  altogether. 

Note. — This  story  I  have  told  in  my  own  words,  using  the 
language  I  have  found  most  effective  for  very  young  children. 


THE  MONKEY  AND  THE 
CROCODILE 


THE  MONKEY  AND  THE 
CROCODILE 

ONCE  upon  a  time,  while  Brahmadatta 
was  king  of  Benares,  the  Bodhisatta 
came  to  life  at  the  foot  of  Himalaya  as  a  Mon- 
key. He  grew  strong  and  sturdy,  big  of 
frame,  well-to-do,  and  lived  by  a  curve  of  the 
river  Ganges  in  a  forest  haunt. 

Now  at  that  time  there  was  a  Crocodile 
dwelling  in  the  Ganges.  The  Crocodile's  mate 
saw  the  great  frame  of  the  monkey,  and  she 
conceived  a  longing  for  his  heart  to  eat.  So 
she  said  to  her  lord:  "Sir,  I  desire  to  eat  the 
heart  of  that  great  king  of  the  monkeys!" 

"Good  wife,"  said  the  Crocodile,  "I  live  in 
the  water  and  he  lives  on  dry  land:  how  can 
we  catch  him?" 

"By  hook  or  by  crook,"  she  replied,  "caught 
he  must  be.    If  I  don't  get  him,  I  shall  die." 

"All  right,"  answered  the  Crocodile,  con- 


10  EASTERN  STORIES 

soling  her,  "don't  trouble  yourself.  I  have  a 
plan;  I  will  give  you  his  heart  to  eat." 

So  when  the  Bodhisatta  was  sitting  on  the 
bank  of  the  Ganges,  after  taking  a  drink  of 
water,  the  Crocodile  drew  near,  and  said : 

"Sir  Monkey,  why  do  you  live  on  bad  fruits 
in  this  old  familiar  place?  On  the  other  side 
of  the  Ganges  there  is  no  end  to  the  mango 
trees,  and  labuja  trees,  with  fruit  sweet  as 
honey !  Is  it  not  better  to  cross  over  and  have 
all  kinds  of  wild  fruit  to  eat?" 

"Lord  Crocodile,"  the  Monkey  made  an- 
swer, "deep  and  wide  is  the  Ganges:  how  shall 
I  get  across?" 

"If  you  will  go,  I  will  mount  you  on  my 
back,  and  carry  you  over." 

The  Monkey  trusted  him,  and  agreed. 
"Come  here,  then,"  said  the  other,  "up  on  my 
back  with  you!"  and  up  the  Monkey  climbed. 
But  when  the  Crocodile  had  swum  a  little  way, 
he  plunged  the  Monkey  under  the  water. 

"Good  friend,  you  are  letting  me  sink!"  cried 
the  Monkey.    "What  is  that  for?" 

Said  the  Crocodile,  "You  think  I  am  carry- 
ing you  out  of  pure  good  nature?    Not  a  bit  of 


THE  MONKEY  AND  THE  CROCODILE       11 

it!  My  wife  has  a  longing  for  your  heart,  and 
I  want  to  give  it  to  her  to  eat!" 

"Friend,"  said  the  Monkey,  "it  is  nice  of 
you  to  tell  me.  Why,  if  our  heart  were  inside 
us  when  we  go  jumping  among  the  tree-tops, 
it  would  be  all  knocked  to  pieces!" 

"Well,  where  do  you  keep  it?"  asked  the 
other. 

The  Bodhisatta  pointed  out  a  fig-tree,  with 
clusters  of  ripe  fruit,  standing  not  far  off. 
"See,"  said  he,  "there  are  our  hearts  hanging 
on  yon  fig-tree." 

"If  you  will  show  me  your  heart,"  said  the 
Crocodile,  "then  I  won't  kill  you." 

"Take  me  to  the  tree,  then,  and  I  will  point 
it  out  to  you  hanging  upon  it." 

The  Crocodile  brought  him  to  the  place.  The 
Monkey  leapt  off  his  back,  and  climbing  up  the 
fig-tree  sat  upon  it.  "O  silly  Crocodile !"  said 
he,  "you  thought  that  there  were  creatures  that 
kept  their  hearts  in  a  tree-top !  You  are  a  fool, 
and  I  have  outwitted  you!  You  may  keep 
your  fruit  to  yourself.  Your  body  is  great, 
but  you  have  no  sense."  And  then  to  explain 
this  idea  he  uttered  the  following  stanzas: 


12  EASTERN  STORIES 

"Rose-apple,  jack- fruit,  mangoes  too  across 

the  water  there  I  see; 
Enough  of  them,  I  want  them  not;  my  fig  is 

good  enough  for  me! 

"Great  is  your  body,  verily,  but  how  much 

smaller  is  your  wit! 
Now  go  your  ways,  Sir  Crocodile,  for  I  have 

had  the  best  of  it." 

The  Crocodile,  feeling  as  sad  and  miserable 
as  if  he  had  lost  a  thousand  pieces  of  money, 
went  back  sorrowing  to  the  place  where  he 
lived. 


THE  SPIRIT  THAT  LIVED 
IN  A  TREE 


THE  SPIRIT  THAT  LIVED 
IN  A  TREE 

AND  it  came  to  pass  that  the  Ruddha  was 
re-born  as  a  Tree- Spirit.  Now  there 
reigned  (at  Benares)  at  that  time  a  King  who 
said  to  himself:  "All  over  India,  the  kings  live 
in  palaces  supported  by  many  a  column.  I  will 
build  me  a  palace  resting  on  one  column  only 
— then  shall  I  in  truth  be  the  chiefest  of  all 
kings." 

Now  in  the  King's  Park  was  a  lordly  Sal 
tree,  straight  and  well-grown,  worshiped  by 
village  and  town,  and  to  this  tree  even  the 
Royal  Family  also  paid  tribute,  worship,  and 
honor.  And  then  suddenly  there  came  an  or- 
der from  the  King  that  the  tree  should  be  cut 
down. 

And  the  people  were  sore  dismayed,  but  the 
woodmen,  who  dared  not  disobey  the  orders  of 
the  King,  came  to  the  Park  with  hands  full  of 
perfumed  garlands,  and  encircling  the  tree 

15 


16  EASTERN  STORIES 

with  a  string,  fastened  to  it  a  nosegay  of  flow- 
ers, and  kindling  a  lamp,  they  did  worship,  ex- 
claiming: "O  Tree!  on  the  seventh  day  must 
we  cut  thee  down,  for  so  hath  the  King  com- 
manded. Now  let  the  Deities  who  dwell  within 
thee  go  elsewhither,  and  since  we  are  only 
obeying  the  King's  command,  let  no  blame  fall 
upon  us,  and  no  harm  come  to  our  children 
because  of  this." 

And  the  Spirit  who  lived  in  the  tree,  hearing 
these  words,  reflected  within  himself  and  said: 
"These  builders  are  determined  to  cut  down 
this  tree,  and  to  destroy  my  place  of  dwelling. 
Now  my  life  lasts  only  as  long  as  this  tree. 
And  lo!  all  the  young  Sal  trees  that  stand 
around,  where  dwell  the  Deities  my  kinsfolk — 
and  they  are  many — will  be  destroyed!  My 
own  destruction  does  not  touch  me  so  near  as 
the  destruction  of  my  children:  therefore  must 
I  protect  their  lives." 

Accordingly,  at  the  hour  of  midnight 
adorned  in  divine  splendor,  he  entered  into 
the  magnificent  chamber  of  the  King,  and  fill- 
ing the  whole  chamber  with  a  bright  radiance, 
stood  weeping  beside  the  King's  pillow.     At 


THE  SPIRIT  THAT  LIVED  IN  A  TREE     17 

the  sight  of  him,  the  King,  overcome  with  ter- 
ror, said:  "Who  art  thou,  standing  high  in 
the  air,  and  why  do  thy  tears  flow?" 

And  the  Tree-God  made  answer:  "Within 
thy  realm  I  am  known  as  the  Lucky- Tree. 
For  sixty  thousand  years  have  I  stood,  and 
all  have  worshiped  me,  and  though  they  have 
built  many  a  house,  and  many  a  town,  no 
violence  has  been  done  to  me.  Spare  thou  me, 
also,  O  King." 

Then  the  King  made  answer  and  said: 
"Never  have  I  seen  so  mighty  a  trunk,  so 
thick  and  strong  a  tree;  but  I  will  build  me 
a  palace,  and  thou  shalt  be  the  only  column 
on  which  it  shall  rest,  and  thou  shalt  dwell 
there  for  ever." 

And  the  Tree  said:  "Since  thou  art  resolved 
to  tear  my  body  from  me,  I  pray  thee  cut  me 
down  gently,  one  branch  after  another — the 
root  last  of  all." 

And  the  King  said:  "O  Woodland  Tree! 
what  is  this  thou  askest  of  me?  It  were  a 
painful  death  to  die.  One  stroke  at  the  root 
would  fell  thee  to  the  ground.  Why  wouldst 
thou  die  piecemeal?" 


18  EASTERN  STORIES 

And  the  Tree  made  answer:  "O  King! 
My  children,  the  young  Sal  trees,  all  grow 
at  my  feet :  they  are  prosperous  and  well  shel- 
tered. If  I  should  fall  with  one  mighty  crash, 
behold  these  young  children  of  the  forest  would 
perish  also!" 

And  the  King  was  greatly  moved  by  this 
spirit  of  sacrifice,  and  said:  "O  great  and 
glorious  Tree!  I  set  thee  free  from  thy  fear, 
and  because  thou  wouldst  willingly  die  to  save 
thy  kindred,  thou  shalt  not  be  cut  down.  Re- 
turn to  thy  home  in  the  Ancient  Forest." 


THE  HARE  THAT  WAS  NOT 
AFRAID  TO  DIE 


THE  HARE  THAT  WAS  NOT 
AFRAID  TO  DIE 

AND  it  came  to  pass  that  the  Buddha  was 
born  a  Hare  and  lived  in  a  wood ;  on  one 
side  was  the  foot  of  a  mountain,  on  another 
a  river,  on  the  third  side  a  border  village. 

And  with  him  lived  three  friends:  a  Mon- 
key, a  Jackal,  and  an  Otter;  each  of  these 
creatures  got  food  on  his  own  hunting  ground. 
In  the  evening  they  met  together,  and  the 
Hare  taught  his  companions  many  wise  things : 
that  the  moral  law  should  be  observed — that 
alms  should  be  given  to  the  poor,  and  that 
holy  days  should  be  kept. 

One  day  the  Buddha  said:  "To-morrow  is 
a  fast  day.  Feed  any  beggars  that  come  to 
you  by  giving  from  your  own  store  of  food." 
They  all  consented. 

The  next  day  the  Otter  went  down  to  the 

bank  of  the  Ganges  to  seek  his  prey.    Now 

a  fisherman  had  landed  seven  red  fish  and  had 

21 


22  EASTERN  STORIES 

buried  them  in  the  sand  on  the  river's  bank 
while  he  went  down  the  stream  catching  more. 
The  Otter  scented  the  buried  fish,  dug  up  the 
sand  till  he  came  upon  them,  and  he  called 
aloud:  "Does  any  one  own  these  fish?"  And, 
not  seeing  the  owner,  he  laid  the  fish  in  the 
jungle  where  he  dwelt,  intending  to  eat  them 
at  a  fitting  time.  Then  he  lay  down,  thinking 
how  virtuous  he  was. 

The  Jackal  also  went  off  in  search  of  food, 
and  found  in  the  hut  of  a  field  watcher  a 
lizard,  and  a  pot  of  milk-curd. 

And,  after  thrice  crying  aloud,  "To  whom 
do  these  belong?"  and  not  finding  an  owner, 
he  put  on  his  neck  the  rope  for  lifting  the  pot, 
and  grasping  the  spits  and  lizard  with  his 
teeth,  he  laid  them  in  his  own  lair,  thinking, 
"In  due  season  I  will  devour  them,"  and  then 
he  lay  down,  thinking  how  virtuous  he  had 
been. 

The  Monkey  entered  the  clump  of  trees,  and 
gathering  a  bunch  of  mangoes,  laid  them  up  in 
his  part  of  the  jungle,  meaning  to  eat  them 
in  due  season.  He  then  lay  down  and  thought 
how  virtuous  he  had  been. 


THE  HARE  NOT  AFRAID  TO  DIE         23 

But  the  Hare  (who  was  the  Buddha-to-be) 
in  due  time  came  out  thinking  to  lie  (in  con- 
templation) on  the  Kuca  grass.  "It  is  impos- 
sible for  me  to  offer  grass  to  any  beggars  who 
may  chance  to  come  by,  and  I  have  no  oil  or 
rice  or  fish.  If  any  beggar  come  to  me,  I  will 
give  him  (of)  my  own  flesh  to  eat." 

Now  when  Sakka,  the  King  of  the  Gods, 
heard  this  thing,  he  determined  to  put  the 
Royal  Hare  to  the  test.  So  he  came  in  dis- 
guise of  a  Brahmin  to  the  Otter  and  said: 
"Wise  Sir,  if  I  could  get  something  to  eat, 
I  would  perform  all  my  priestly  duties." 

The  Otter  said:  "I  will  give  you  food. 
Seven  red  fish  have  I  safely  brought  to  land 
from  the  sacred  river  of  the  Ganges.  Eat  thy 
fill,  O  Brahmin,  and  stay  in  this  wood." 

And  the  Brahmin  said:  "Let  it  be  until  to- 
morrow, and  I  will  see  to  it  then." 

Then  he  went  to  the  Jackal,  who  confessed 
that  he  had  stolen  the  food,  but  he  begged  the 
Brahmin  to  accept  it  and  remain  in  the  wood; 
but  the  Brahmin  said:  "Let  it  be  until  to- 
morrow, and  then  I  will  see  to  it." 

And  he  came  to  the  Monkey,  who  offered 


24  EASTERN  STORIES 

him  the  mangoes,  and  the  Brahmin  answered 
in  the  same  way. 

Then  the  Brahmin  went  to  the  wise  Hare, 
and  the  Hare  said:  "Behold,  I  will  give  thee 
of  my  flesh  to  eat.  But  thou  must  not  take 
life  on  this  holy  day.  When  thou  hast  piled 
up  the  logs  I  will  sacrifice  myself  by  falling 
into  the  midst  of  the  flames,  and  when  my 
body  is  roasted  thou  shalt  eat  it  and  perform 
all  thy  priestly  duties." 

Now  when  Sakka  heard  these  words  he 
caused  a  heap  of  burning  coals  to  appear,  and 
the  Wisdom  Being,  rising  from  the  grass,  came 
to  the  place,  but  before  casting  himself  into 
the  flames  he  shook  himself,  lest  perchance 
there  should  be  any  insects  in  his  coat  who 
might  suffer  death.  Then,  offering  his  body 
as  a  free  gift,  he  sprang  up,  and  like  a  royal 
swan,  lighting  on  a  bed  of  lotus  in  an  ecstasy 
of  joy,  he  fell  on  the  heap  of  live  coals.  But 
the  flame  failed  even  to  heat  the  pores  of  the 
hair  on  the  body  of  the  Wisdom  Being,  and  it 
was  as  if  he  had  entered  a  region  of  frost. 
Then  he  addressed  the  Brahmin  in  these  words : 
"Brahmin,  the  fire  that  thou  hast  kindled  is 


THE  HARE  NOT  AFRAID  TO  DIE         25 

icy  cold;  it  fails  to  heat  the  pores  of  the  hair 
on  my  body.    What  is  the  meaning  of  this  ?" 

"O  most  wise  Hare!  I  am  Sakka,  and  have 
come  to  put  your  virtue  to  the  test." 

And  the  Buddha  in  a  sweet  voice  said:  "No 
god  or  man  could  find  in  me  an  unwillingness 
to  die." 

Then  Sakka  said:  "O  wise  Hare,  be  thy 
virtue  known  to  all  the  ages  to  come." 

And  seizing  the  mountain  he  squeezed  out 
the  juice  and  daubed  on  the  moon  the  signs 
of  the  young  hare. 

Then  he  placed  him  back  on  the  grass  that 
he  might  continue  his  Sabbath  meditation  and 
returned  to  Heaven. 

And  the  four  creatures  lived  together  and 
kept  the  moral  law. 


THE  PARROT  THAT  FED  HIS 
PARENTS 


THE  PARROT  THAT  FED  HIS 
PARENTS 

NOW  it  came  to  pass  that  the  Buddha  was 
re-born  in  the  shape  of  a  Parrot,  and  he 
greatly  excelled  all  other  parrots  in  his 
strength  and  beauty.  And  when  he  was  full 
grown  his  father,  who  had  long  been  the  leader 
of  the  flock  in  their  flights  to  other  climes,  said 
to  him :  "My  son,  behold  my  strength  is  spent ! 
Do  thou  lead  the  flock,  for  I  am  no  longer 
able."  And  the  Buddha  said:  "Behold,  thou 
shalt  rest.  I  will  lead  the  birds."  And  the 
Parrots  rejoiced  in  the  strength  of  their  new 
leader,  and  willingly  did  they  follow  him. 
Now  from  that  day  on,  the  Buddha  undertook 
to  feed  his  parents,  and  would  not  consent  that 
they  should  do  any  more  work.  Each  day  he 
led  his  flock  to  the  Himalaya  Hills,  and  when 
he  had  eaten  his  fill  of  the  clumps  of  rice  that 
grew  there,  he  filled  his  beak  with  food  for  the 
dear  parents  who  were  waiting  his  return. 

29 


30  EASTERN  STORIES 

Now  there  was  a  man  appointed  to  watch 
the  rice-fields,  and  he  did  his  best  to  drive 
the  Parrots  away,  but  there  seemed  to  be  some 
secret  power  in  the  leader  of  this  flock  which 
the  Keeper  could  not  overcome. 

He  noticed  that  the  Parrots  ate  their  fill 
and  then  flew  away,  but  that  the  Parrot-King 
not  only  satisfied  his  hunger,  but  carried  away 
rice  in  his  beak. 

Now  he  feared  there  would  be  no  rice  left, 
and  he  went  to  his  master  the  Brahmin  to 
tell  him  what  had  happened;  and  even  as  the 
master  listened  there  came  to  him  the  thought 
that  the  Parrot-King  was  something  higher 
than  he  seemed,  and  he  loved  him  even  before 
he  saw  him.  But  he  said  nothing  of  this,  and 
only  warned  the  Keeper  that  he  should  set  a 
snare  and  catch  the  dangerous  bird.  So  the 
man  did  as  he  was  bidden:  he  made  a  small 
cage  and  set  the  snare,  and  sat  down  in  his 
hut  waiting  for  the  birds  to  come.  And  soon 
he  saw  the  Parrot-King  amidst  his  flock,  who, 
because  he  had  no  greed,  sought  no  richer  spot, 
but  flew  down  to  the  same  place  in  which  he 
had  fed  the  day  before. 


THE  PARROT  THAT  FED  HIS  PARENTS    31 

Now,  no  sooner  had  he  touched  the  ground 
than  he  felt  his  feet  caught  in  the  noose.  Then 
fear  crept  into  his  bird-heart,  but  a  stronger 
feeling  was  there  to  crush  it  down,  for  he 
thought:  "If  I  cry  out  the  Cry  of  the  Cap- 
tured, my  Kinsfolk  will  be  terrified,  and  they 
will  fly  away  foodless.  But  if  I  lie  still,  then 
their  hunger  will  be  satisfied,  and  they  may 
safely  come  to  my  aid."  Thus  was  the  Par- 
rot both  brave  and  prudent. 

But  alas!  he  did  not  know  that  his  Kins- 
folk had  nought  of  his  brave  spirit.  When 
they  had  eaten  their  fill,  though  they  heard 
the  thrice-uttered  cry  of  the  captured,  they 
flew  away,  nor  heeded  the  sad  plight  of  their 
leader. 

Then  was  the  heart  of  the  Parrot-King  sore 
within  him,  and  he  said:  "All  these  my  kith 
and  kin,  and  not  one  to  look  back  on  me.  Alas ! 
what  sin  have  I  done?" 

The  Watchman  now  heard  the  cry  of  the 
Parrot-King,  and  the  sound  of  the  other  Par- 
rots flying  through  the  air.  "What  is  that?" 
he  cried,  and  leaving  his  hut  he  came  to  the 
place  where  he  had  laid  the  snare.    There  he 


32  EASTERN  STORIES 

found  the  captive  Parrot;  he  tied  his  feet  to- 
gether and  brought  him  to  the  Brahmin,  his 
master.  Now,  when  the  Brahmin  saw  the  Par- 
rot-King, he  felt  his  strong  power,  and  his 
heart  was  full  of  love  to  him,  but  he  hid  his 
feelings  and  said  in  a  voice  of  anger:  "Is  thy 
greed  greater  than  that  of  all  other  birds? 
They  eat  their  fill,  but  thou  takest  away  each 
day  more  food  than  thou  canst  eat.  Doest  thou 
this  out  of  hatred  for  me,  or  dost  thou  store  up 
the  food  in  some  granary  for  selfish  greed?" 

And  the  Great  Being  made  answer  in  a 
sweet  human  voice:  "I  hate  thee  not,  O  Brah- 
min. Nor  do  I  store  the  rice  in  a  granary  for 
selfish  greed.  But  this  thing  I  do.  Each  day 
I  pay  a  debt  which  is  due — each  day  I  grant  a- 
loan,  and  each  day  I  store  up  a  treasure." 

Now  the  Brahmin  could  not  understand  the 
words  of  the  Buddha  (because  true  wisdom 
had  not  entered  his  heart),  and  he  said:  "I 
pray  thee,  O  Wondrous  Bird,  to  make  these 
words  clear  unto  me." 

And  then  the  Parrot-King  made  answer: 
"I  carry  food  to  my  ancient  parents  who 
can  no  longer  seek  that  food  for  themselves: 


THE  PARROT  THAT  FED  HIS  PARENTS    $8 

thus  I  pay  my  daily  debt.  I  carry  food  to 
my  callow  chicks  whose  wings  are  yet  un- 
grown.  When  I  am  old  they  will  care  for  me 
— this  my  loan  to  them.  And  for  other  birds, 
weak  and  helpless  of  wing,  who  need  the  aid 
of  the  strong,  for  them  I  lay  up  a  store;  to 
these  I  give  in  charity." 

Then  was  the  Brahmin  much  moved,  and 
showed  the  love  that  was  in  his  heart.  "Eat 
thy  fill,  O  Righteous  Bird,  and  let  thy  Kins- 
folk eat  too,  for  thy  sake."  And  he  wished  to 
bestow  a  thousand  acres  of  land  upon  him,  but 
the  Great  Being  would  only  take  a  tiny  por- 
tion round  which  were  set  boundary  stores. 

And  the  Parrot  returned  with  a  head  of 
rice,  and  said:  "Arise,  dear  Parents,  that  I 
may  take  you  to  a  place  of  plenty."  And  he 
told  them  the  story  of  his  deliverance. 


THE  MAN  WHO  WORKED  TO 
GIVE  ALMS 


THE  MAN  WHO  WORKED  TO 
GIVE  ALMS 

ONCE  upon  a  time  the  Buddha  was  born 
as  a  merchant  named  Vissaya  (and  be- 
ing endowed  with  the  Five  Virtues)  he  was 
liberal  and  fond  of  alms-giving.  He  had  alms 
halls  built  at  the  four  city  gates,  in  the  heart 
of  the  city,  and  at  the  door  of  his  own  house. 
At  these  points  he  set  on  foot  alms-giving  and 
every  day  600,000  men  went  forth  to  beg  and 
the  food  of  the  beggar  and  the  merchant  was 
exactly  the  same.  And  as  he  thus  stirred  up 
the  people  of  India  by  his  gifts,  Sakka,  the 
King  of  the  gods,  grew  suspicious  and  thought, 
"This  Vissaya  gives  alms  and  by  scattering  his 
gifts  everywhere  is  stirring  up  all  India.  By 
means  of  his  alms-giving,  methinks  he  will  de- 
throne me  and  himself  become  Sakka.  I  will 
destroy  his  wealth,  and  make  him  a  poor  man, 
and  so  bring  it  about  that  he  shall  no  longer 

give  alms."     So  Sakka  caused  his  oil,  honey, 

37 


38  EASTERN  STORIES 

molasses  and  the  like,  and  all  his  treasure  of 
grain  to  disappear,  as  well  as  his  slaves  and 
work  people.  Those  who  were  deprived  of  his 
gifts  came  and  said,  "My  Lord,  the  alms  hall 
has  disappeared.  We  do  not  find  anything  in 
the  various  places  set  up  by  you."  "Take 
money  hence,"  he  said.  "Do  not  cut  off  the 
giving  of  alms."  And  calling  his  wife,  he  bade 
her  keep  up  her  charity.  She  searched  the 
whole  house,  and  not  finding  a  single  bit  of 
money,  she  said,  "My  Lord,  except  the  clothes 
we  wear,  I  see  nothing.  The  whole  house  is 
empty."  Opening  the  seven  jewel  treasuries 
they  found  nothing,  and  save  the  merchant  and 
his  wife  no  one  else  was  seen,  neither  slaves  nor 
hirelings.  The  merchant,  again  addressing  his 
wife,  said,  "My  dear,  we  cannot  possibly  cut 
off  our  charities.  Search  the  whole  house  till 
you  find  something." 

At  that  moment  a  certain  grass-mower 
threw  down  his  sickle  and  pole  and  the  rope  for 
binding  the  grass  in  the  doorway,  and  ran 
away.  The  merchant's  wife  found  them  and 
said:  "My  Lord,  this  is  all  I  see,"  and  brought 
and  gave  them  to  him.     Said  he:   "All  these 


THE  MAN  WHO  WORKED  TO  GIVE  ALMS     39 

years  I  have  never  mown  grass  before,  but  to- 
day I  will  mow  grass,  and  take  and  sell  it,  and 
by  this  means  dispense  the  fitting  alms." 

So,  through  fear  of  having  to  cut  off  his  char- 
ities, he  took  the  sickle,  and  the  pole  and  the 
rope,  and  going  forth  from  the  city  came  to 
a  place  of  much  grass,  and  mowing  it,  tied  it 
up  in  two  bundles,  saying,  "One  shall  belong 
to  us,  and  with  the  other  I  will  give  alms." 

This  he  did  for  six  days,  and  because  there 
was  not  enough  to  feed  all  who  came  for  alms, 
on  the  seventh  day,  he  and  his  wife  went  fast- 
ing. Then  his  strength  gave  out.  No  sooner 
did  the  heat  of  the  sun  strike  upon  his  head 
than  his  eyes  began  to  swim  in  his  head,  and  he 
became  unconscious,  and  falling  down  he  scat- 
tered the  grass.  Sakka  was  moving  about,  ob- 
serving what  the  merchant  did.  And  that  god, 
standing  in  mid-air,  cried:  "Refrain  from  giv- 
ing, and  thou  shalt  have  joy  for  ever." 

"Who  art  thou?"  cried  the  merchant. 

"I  am  Sakka." 

And  the  merchant  said: 

"Sakka  reached  his  high  office  by  taking 
upon  himself  moral  duties,  and  giving  alms." 


40  EASTERN  STORIES 

"Why  dost  thou  give  alms?"  asked  Sakka, 
still  wishing  to  test  him. 

"It  is  not  because  I  desire  Sakkahood  nor 
Brahmaship,  but  through  giving  there  cometh 
knowledge  of  all  things." 

"Great  merchant,"  cried  Sakka,  "henceforth 
do  thou  every  day  give  alms."  And  all  his 
wealth  was  restored  to  him. 


THE  KING  WHO  SAW  THE  TRUTH 


THE  KING  WHO  SAW  THE  TRUTH 

T  ONG,  long  ago  the  Wisdom  Child  that 
-*— ■  should  in  time  become  the  Buddha  was 
born  a  King.  He  was  kind  and  generous,  dis- 
tributing all  sorts  of  alms  to  the  poor;  nor 
did  he  leave  the  work  to  those  under  him:  he 
took  a  personal  part  in  the  giving  of  the  gifts 
— and  nearly  every  day  came  himself  to  the 
Alms  Hall  to  see  that  none  went  away  empty  ~ 
handed. 

But  one  morning,  as  he  lay  meditating  on 
what  he  still  might  do  for  his  people,  he  be- 
gan to  feel  that,  after  all,  he  had  done  no 
very  great  thing,  and  he  said:  "I  have  given 
to  my  people  only  outside  things — the  mere 
gold  and  silver  and  raiment  and  food  that  I 
can  well  spare,  and  lo!  this  giving  brings  me  no 
joy.  If  I  could  only  give  my  people  part  of 
myself — some  precious  thing  which  would 
show  my  love  for  them — whatever  it  might 
cost  me!    And  if  to-day,  when  I  go  down  to 

43 


4*  EASTERN  STORIES 

the  Alms  Hall,  one  should  say,  'Give  me  thy 
heart,'  then,  in  truth,  I  will  cut  open  my  breast 
with  a  spear,  and,  as  though  I  were  drawing 
up  a  water-lily  from  a  calm  lake,  I  will  pull 
forth  my  heart.  If  he  asks  my  flesh  and  blood, 
behold  I  will  give  it  to  him.  If  he  complain 
that  there  is  no  other  to  do  his  work,  then  I 
will  leave  my  royal  throne,  and,  proclaiming 
myself  a  slave,  I  will  do  the  work  of  a  slave — 
and,  indeed,  should  any  man  ask  for  my  eyes, 
the  most  precious  gift  of  the  gods,  then  will  I 
tear  them  out  as  one  might  tear  the  pith  from 
the  palm-tree." 

Then  he  bathed  himself,  and,  mounted  upon 
a  richly  caparisoned  elephant,  he  rode  down 
to  the  Alms  Hall,  his  heart  filled  with  love 
for  his  people. 

Now  Sakka,  the  King  of  the  Gods,  heard 
the  resolve  of  the  King,  and  he  thought  to 
test  him,  whether  his  words  were  vain ;  whether 
it  were  a  sudden  mood  which  would  pass  away 
when  the  moment  came  to  carry  out  his  stern 
resolution. 

So,  when  the  King  came  down  to  the  Alms 
Hall,  Sakka  stood  before  him,  in  the  guise  of 


THE  KING  WHO  SAW  THE  TRUTH       45 

an  old  blind  Brahmin,  who,  stretching  out 
his  hands,  cried  out:    "Long  live  the  King!" 

And  the  King  made  sign  for  him  to  say 
what  was  in  his  heart. 

"O  great  King,"  said  the  blind  Brahmin — 
"in  all  the  inhabited  world  there  is  no  spot 
where  the  fame  of  thy  great  heart  has  not 
spread.  I  am  blind,  but  thou,  O  King,  hast 
two  eyes — I  therefore  beseech  thee,  give  me 
one,  that  I  too  may  behold  the  glories  of  the 
Earth!" 

Then  did  the  King  rejoice  greatly  that  this 
opportunity  should  have  come  to  him  so 
quickly,  but  not  wishing  to  show  at  once  the 
joy  he  felt  in  his  heart,  he  said:  "O  Brahmin, 
I  pray  thee  tell  me,  who  bade  thee  wend  thy 
way  to  this  alms-house?  Thou  askest  of  me 
the  most  precious  thing  that  a  man  possesses, 
and  lo!  it  is  very  hard  to  give!" 

And  the  Brahmin  made  answer:  "Behold, 
a  god  has  sent  me  hither,  and  has  told  me  to 
ask  this  boon." 

And  the  King  said:  "Thy  prayer  is  granted: 
thou  didst  ask  for  one  eye,  behold  I  will  give 
thee  both  eyes." 


46  EASTERN  STORIES 

And  then  the  news  spread  quickly  through 
the  town  that  the  King  was  about  to  give  his 
eyes  to  a  blind  Brahmin,  and  the  Commander- 
in-Chief  and  all  the  officials  gathered  together 
that  they  might  turn  the  King  from  his  pur- 
pose. 

And  they  said:  "O  great  King,  are  there 
not  other  gifts  which  thou  canst  bestow  upon 
this  sightless  Brahmin — money,  jewels,  ele- 
phants with  cloth  of  gold?  Why  shouldst  thou 
give  to  him  that  most  precious  of  gifts,  thy 
royal  eyes?" 

And  the  King  said:  "Behold,  I  have  taken 
this  vow,  and  I  should  be  sinful  if  I  were  to 
break  it." 

And  the  courtiers  said:  "O  King,  why  doest 
thou  this  thing?  Is  it  for  Life,  or  Beauty  or 
Strength?" 

The  King  answered :  "It  is  for  none  of  these 
things:  it  is  for  the  joy  of  giving." 

Then  the  King  bid  the  Surgeon  do  his  work. 
And  when  one  of  his  eyes  was  taken  out,  he 
gave  it  to  the  Brahmin,  and  it  remained  fixed 
in  his  socket  like  a  blue  lotus  flower  in  bloom. 
And  the  King  said:    "The  eye  that  sees  all 


THE  KING  WHO  SAW  THE  TRUTH       47 

things  is  greater  than  this  eye,"  and,  being 
filled  with  ecstasy  of  joy,  he  gave  the  second 
eye. 

And  after  many  days  and  much  suffering, 
the  King's  sight  was  restored  to  him — not  the 
natural  eyes  which  see  the  things  around — but 
the  eyes  which  see  perfect  and  absolute  Truth. 

And  he  reigned  in  righteousness  and  justice, 
and  the  people  learnt  of  him  pure  wisdom. 


THE  BULL  THAT  DEMANDED 
FAIR  TREATMENT 


THE  BULL  THAT  DEMANDED 
FAIR  TREATMENT 

LONG  ago  the  Bodisat  came  to  life  as  a 
Bull. 

Now,  when  he  was  yet  a  young  calf,  a  cer- 
tain Brahmin,  after  attending  upon  some  de- 
votees who  were  wont  to  give  oxen  to  priests, 
received  the  bull.  And  he  called  it  Nandi 
Visala,  and  grew  very  fond  of  it,  treating  it 
like  a  son,  and  feeding  it  on  gruel  and  rice. 

When  the  Bodisat  grew  up,  he  said  to  him- 
self: "This  Brahmin  has  brought  me  up  with 
great  care;  and  there's  no  other  ox  in  all  the 
continent  of  India  can  drag  the  weight  I  can. 
What  if  I  were  to  let  the  Brahmin  know  about 
my  strength,  and  so  in  my  turn  provide  sus- 
tenance for  him!" 

And  he  said  one  day  to  the  Brahmin:   "Do 

you  go  now,  Brahmin,  to  some  Squire  rich  in 

cattle,  and  offer  to  bet  him  a  thousand  that 

your  ox  will  move  a  hundred  laden  carts." 

si 


02  EASTERN  STORIES 

The  Brahmin  went  to  a  rich  farmer,  and 
started  a  conversation  thus: 

"Whose  bullocks  hereabout  do  you  think 
the  strongest?" 

"Such  and  such  a  man's,"  said  the  farmer, 
and  then  added:  "But,  of  course,  there  are 
none  in  the  whole  country-side  to  touch  my 
own!" 

"I  have  one  ox,"  said  the  Brahmin,  "who  is 
good  to  move  a  hundred  carts,  loads  and  all!" 

"Tush!"  said  the  Squire.  "Where  in  the 
world  is  such  an  ox?" 

"Just  in  my  house!"  said  the  Brahmin. 

"Then  make  a  bet  about  it!" 

"All  right!    I  bet  you  a  thousand  he  can." 

So  the  bet  was  made.  And  he  filled  a  hun- 
dred carts  (small  wagons  made  for  two  bul- 
locks) with  sand  and  gravel  and  stones,  ranged 
them  all  in  a  row,  and  tied  them  all  firmly  to- 
gether, cross-bar  to  axle-tree. 

Then  he  bathed  Nandi  Visala,  gave  him  a 
measure  of  scented  rice,  hung  a  garland  round 
his  neck,  and  yoked  him  by  himself  to  the  front 
cart.    Then  he  took  his  seat  on  the  pole,  raised 


THE  BULL  AND  FAIR  TREATMENT       53 

his  goad  aloft,  and  called  out:  "Gee  up!  you 
brute!!  Drag  'em  alpng,  you  wretch!!" 

The  Bodisat  said  to  himself:  "He  addresses 
me  as  a  wretch.  I  am  no  wretch !"  And,  keep- 
ing his  four  legs  as  firm  as  so  many  posts,  he 
stood  perfectly  still. 

Then  the  Squire  that  moment  claimed  his 
bet,  and  made  the  Brahmin  hand  over  the  thou- 
sand pieces.  And  the  Brahmin,  minus  his  thou- 
sand, took  out  his  ox,  went  home  to  his  house, 
and  lay  down  overwhelmed  with  grief. 

Presently  Nandi  Visala,  who  was  roaming 
about  the  place,  came  up  and  saw  the  Brah- 
min grieving  there,  and  said  to  him:  "What, 
Brahmin!    Are  you  asleep ?" 

"Sleep!  How  can  I  sleep  after  losing  the 
thousand  pieces?" 

"Brahmin!  I've  lived  so  long  in  your  house, 
and  have  I  ever  broken  any  pots,  or  rubbed  up 
against  the  walls?" 

"Never,  my  dear!" 

"Then  why  did  you  call  me  a  wretch?  It's 
your  fault.  It's  not  my  fault.  Go  now  and 
bet  him  two  thousand;  and  never  call  me  a 


VI  EASTERN  STORIES 

wretch  again — I,  who  am  no  wretch  at  all!" 

When  the  Brahmin  heard  what  he  said,  he 
made  the  bet  two  thousand,  tied  the  carts  to- 
gether as  before,  decked  out  Nandi  Visala,  and 
yoked  him  to  the  foremost  cart. 

He  managed  this  in  the  following  way:  he 
tied  the  pole  and  the  cross-piece  fast  together, 
yoked  Nandi  Visala  on  one  side;  on  the  other 
he  fixed  a  smooth  piece  of  timber  from  the 
point  of  the  yoke  to  the  axle-end,  and  wrapping 
it  round  with  the  fastenings  of  the  cross-piece, 
tied  it  fast,  so  that  when  this  was  done  the  yoke 
could  not  move  this  way  and  that  way,  and  it 
was  possible  for  one  ox  to  drag  forwards  the 
double  bullock-cart. 

Then  the  Brahmin  seated  himself  on  the 
pole,  stroked  Nandi  Visala  on  the  back,  and 
called  out:  "Gee  up!  my  beauty!!  Drag  it 
along,  my  beauty!!" 

And  the  Bodisat,  with  one  mighty  effort, 
dragged  forwards  the  hundred  heavily-laden 
carts,  and  brought  the  hindmost  one  up  to  the 
place  where  the  foremost  one  had  stood. 

Then  the  cattle-owner  acknowledged  him- 
self beaten,  and  handed  over  to  the  Brahmin 


THE  BULL  AND  FAIR  TREATMENT       55 

the  two  thousand;  the  bystanders,  too,  pre- 
sented the  Bodisat  with  a  large  sum,  and  the 
whole  became  the  property  of  the  Brahmin. 
Thus,  by  means  of  the  Bodisat,  great  was  the 
wealth  he  acquired. 


THE  BULL  THAT  PROVED 
HIS  GRATITUDE 


THE  BULL  THAT  PROVED 
HIS  GRATITUDE 

LONG  ago  .  .  .  the  Bodisat  returned  to 
life  as  a  Bull. 

Now,  when  it  was  still  a  young  calf,  its 
owners  stopped  a  while  in  an  old  woman's 
house,  and  gave  him  to  her  when  they  settled 
their  account  for  their  lodging.  And  she 
brought  him  up,  treating  him  like  a  son,  and 
feeding  him  on  gruel  and  rice. 

He  soon  became  known  as  "The  old  woman's 
Blackie."  When  he  grew  up,  he  roamed  about, 
as  black  as  collyrium,  with  the  village  cattle, 
and  was  very  good-tempered  and  quiet.  The 
village  children  used  to  catch  hold  of  his  horns, 
or  ears,  or  dewlaps,  and  hang  on  to  him;  or 
amuse  themselves  by  pulling  his  tail,  or  riding 
about  on  his  back. 

One  day  he  said  to  himself:  "My  mother 
is  wretchedly  poor.  She's  taken  so  much  pains, 
too,  in  bringing  me  up,  and  has  treated  me  like 

59 


60  EASTERN  STORIES 

a  son.  What  if  I  were  to  work  for  hire,  and 
so  relieve  her  distress!"  And  from  that  day 
he  was  always  on  the  look-out  for  a  job. 

Now,  one  day  a  young  caravan  owner  ar- 
rived at  a  neighboring  ford  with  five  hundred 
bullock-wagons.  And  his  bullocks  were  not 
only  unable  to  drag  the  carts  across,  but 
even  when  he  yoked  the  five  hundred  pair  in 
a  row  they  could  not  move  one  cart  by  itself. 

The  Bodisat  was  grazing  with  the  village 
cattle  close  to  the  ford.  The  young  caravan 
owner  was  a  famous  judge  of  cattle,  and 
began  looking  about  to  see  whether  there  were 
among  them  any  thoroughbred  bull  able  to 
drag  over  the  carts.  Seeing  the  Bodisat,  he 
thought  he  would  do,  and  asked  the  herdsmen : 
"Who  may  be  the  owners,  my  men,  of  this 
fellow?  I  should  like  to  yoke  him  to  the  cart, 
and  am  willing  to  give  a  reward  for  having  the 
carts  dragged  over." 

"Catch  him  and  yoke  him  then,"  said  they. 
"He  has  no  owner  hereabouts." 

But  when  he  began  to  put  a  string  through 
his  nose  and  drag  him  along,  he  could  not  get 
him  to  come.     For  the  Bodisat,  it  is  said, 


THE  BULL  PROVED  HIS  GRATITUDE       61 

wouldn't  go  till  he  was  promised  a  reward. 

The  young  caravan  owner,  seeing  what  his 
object  was,  said  to  him:  "Sir!  if  you'll  drag 
over  these  five  hundred  carts  for  me,  I'll  pay 
you  wages  at  the  rate  of  two  pence  for  each 
cart — a  thousand  pieces  in  all." 

Then  the  Bodisat  went  along  of  his  own  ac- 
cord, and  the  men  yoked  him  to  the  cart.  And 
with  a  mighty  effort  he  dragged  it  up  and 
landed  it  safe  on  the  high  ground.  And  in 
the  same  manner  he  dragged  up  all  the  carts. 

So  the  caravan  owner  then  put  five  hundred 
pennies  in  a  bundle,  one  for  each  cart,  and  tied 
it  round  his  neck.  The  Bull  said  to  himself: 
"This  fellow  is  not  giving  me  wages  according 
to  the  rate  agreed  upon.  I  shan't  let  him  go 
on  now!"  And  so  he  went  and  stood  in  the  way 
of  the  front  cart,  and  they  tried  in  vain  to  get 
him  away. 

The  caravan  owner  thought:  "He  knows,  I 
suppose,  that  the  pay  is  too  little ;"  and  wrap- 
ping a  thousand  pieces  in  a  cloth,  tied  them  up 
in  a  bundle,  and  hung  that  round  his  neck. 
And  as  soon  as  he  got  the  bundle  with  a  thou- 
sand inside,  he  went  off  to  his  "mother." 


«2  EASTERN  STORIES 

Then  the  village  children  called  out:  "See! 
what's  that  round  the  neck  of  the  old  woman's 
Blackie?"  and  began  to  run  up  to  him.  But 
he  chased  after  them,  so  that  they  took  to  their 
heels  before  they  got  near  him;  and  he  went 
straight  to  his  "mother."  And  he  appeared 
with  eyes  all  bloodshot,  utterly  exhausted  from 
dragging  over  so  many  carts. 

"How  did  you  get  this,  dear?"  said  the  good 
old  woman,  when  she  saw  the  bag  round  his 
neck.  And  when  she  heard,  on  inquiry  from 
the  herdsmen,  what  had  happened,  she  ex- 
claimed: "Am  I  so  anxious,  then,  to  live  on 
the  fruit  of  your  toil,  my  darling !  Why  do  you 
put  yourself  to  all  this  pain?" 

And  she  bathed  him  in  warm  water,  and 
rubbed  him  all  over  with  oil,  and  gave  him 
to  drink,  and  fed  him  up  with  good  food.  And 
at  the  end  of  her  life  she  passed  away  accord- 
ing to  her  deeds,  and  the  Bodisat  with  her. 


THE  HORSE  THAT  HELD 
OUT  TO  THE  END 


THE  HORSE  THAT  HELD 
OUT  TO  THE  END 

AND  it  came  to  pass  that  the  Buddha  (to 
be)  came  to  life  in  the  shape  of  a  Horse 
— a  thoroughbred  small  horse,  and  he  was 
made  the  King's  Destrier,  surrounded  by 
pomp  and  state.  He  was  fed  on  exquisite 
three-year-old  rice  which  was  always  served  up 
to  him  in  a  golden  dish  worth  a  hundred  thou- 
sand pieces  of  money,  and  the  ground  of  his 
stall  was  perfumed  with  the  four  odors.  Round 
his  stall  were  hung  crimson  curtains,  while 
overhead  was  a  canopy  studded  with  stars  of 
gold.  On  the  wall  were  festooned  wreaths  and 
garlands  of  fragrant  flowers,  and  a  lamp  fed 
with  scented  oil  was  always  burning  there. 

Now  all  the  kings  round  coveted  the  king- 
dom of  Benares.  Once  seven  kings  passed 
Benares  and  sent  a  missive  to  the  King,  saying : 
"Either  yield  up  your  kingdom  to  us  or  give 
battle." 

65 


66  EASTERN  STORIES 

Assembling  his  ministers,  the  King  of 
Benares  laid  the  matter  before  them  and  asked 
what  he  was  to  do.  Said  they:  "You  ought 
not  to  go  out  to  battle  in  person,  Sire,  in  the 
first  instance.  Despatch  such  and  such  a 
Knight  out  first  to  fight  him,  and,  later  on, 
if  he  fall,  we  will  decide  what  to  do." 

Then  the  King  sent  for  that  Knight  and  said 
to  him:  "Can  you  fight  the  seven  kings,  my 
dear  Knight?"  Said  he:  "Give  me  but  your 
noble  Destrier,  and  then  I  could  fight  not  only 
seven  kings  but  all  the  kings  in  India."  "My 
dear  Knight,  take  my  Destrier  or  any  horse 
you  please,  and  do  battle."  "Very  good,  my 
Sovereign  Lord,"  said  the  Knight,  and  with 
a  bow  he  passed  down  from  the  upper  cham- 
bers of  the  palace. 

Then  he  had  the  noble  Destrier  led  out  and 
sheathed  in  mail,  arming  himself  too  and  gird- 
ing on  his  sword. 

Mounted  on  his  noble  steed  he  passed  out 
of  the  City  Gate,  and  with  a  lightning  charge 
broke  down  the  first  camp,  taking  one  king 
alone,  and  bringing  him  back  a  prisoner  to  the 
soldiers'  custody. 


THE  HORSE  HELD  OUT  TO  THE  END       67 

.  .  .  And  this  went  on  until  six  kings  had 
been  made  prisoner.  Then  the  noble  Horse 
received  a  wound  which  streamed  with  blood 
and  caused  him  much  pain.  Perceiving  that 
the  Horse  was  wounded,  the  Knight  made  it 
lie  down  at  the  King's  gate,  loosened  its  mail, 
and  set  about  arming  another  horse. 

But  the  Horse  perceiving  this,  said:  "The 
other  horse  will  not  be  able  to  break  down 
the  seventh  camp  and  capture  the  seventh 
king:  he  will  lose  all  that  I  have  accomplished. 
The  peerless  Knight  will  be  slain,  and  the 
King  will  fall  into  the  hands  of  the  foe.  I 
alone  and  no  other  horse  can  break  down 
the  seventh  camp  and  capture  the  seventh 
king." 

So  he  called  to  the  Knight  and  repeated 
these  words,  and  added:  "I  will  not  throw 
away  what  I  have  already  done.  Only  have 
me  set  upon  my  feet,  and  clad  again  in  my  ar- 
mor, and  I  will  accomplish  my  work." 

The  Knight  had  the  Horse  set  upon  his  feet, 
bound  up  his  wound,  and  armed  him  again  in 
proof.     Mounted  on  the  Destrier,  he  broke 


68  EASTERN  STORIES 

down  the  seventh  camp,  and  brought  back 
alive  the  seventh  king. 

They  led  the  Horse  to  the  King's  gate,  and 
the  King  came  up  to  look  at  him. 

Then  said  the  Great  Being:  "Great  King, 
slay  not  these  seven  kings:  bind  them  by  an 
oath,  and  let  them  go.  Let  the  Knight  enjoy 
the  honor  due  to  us  both.  As  for  you,  exercise 
charity,  keep  the  Ornaments,  and  rule  your 
kingdom  in  righteousness  and  justice."  When 
the  Horse  had  thus  exhorted  the  King,  they 
took  off  his  mail,  but  as  they  were  taking  it 
off  piecemeal,  he  passed  away. 

The  King  had  the  body  buried  with  due  re- 
spect, bestowed  great  honors  on  the  Knight, 
and  sent  the  kings  to  their  homes,  after  ex- 
acting from  each  an  oath  never  to  war  upon 
him  any  more.  And  he  ruled  his  kingdom  in 
righteousness  and  justice,  passing  away  when 
his  life  closed,  to  fare  thereafter  according  to 
his  deserts. 

The  story  was  told  by  the  Master  about  a 
brother  who  gave  up  persevering. 

"Brethren,  in  bygone  days  the  wise  and 
good  persevered  even  in  hostile  surroundings, 


THE  HORSE  HELD  OUT  TO  THE  END       69 

and  even  when 'they  were  wounded  they  did 
not  give  in.  Whereas  you  who  have  devoted 
yourself  to  so  saving  a  doctrine,  how  comes  it 
that  you  give  up  persevering?" 


THE  MONKEY  THAT  SAVED 
THE    HERD 


THE  MONKEY  THAT  SAVED 
THE  HERD 

T  T  came  to  pass  that  the  Buddha  was  re-born 
■*•  as  the  King  of  the  monkeys.  He  lived 
with  his  herd  of  80,000  monkeys  in  a  thick  for- 
est, near  a  lake.  In  this  lake  there  lived  an 
ogre  who  used  to  devour  all  those  who  went 
down  to  the  water. 

The  Buddha  spoke  to  his  subjects  and  said: 
"My  friends,  in  this  forest  there  are  trees  that 
are  poisoned,  and  lakes  that  are  haunted  by 
ogres.  Eat  no  fruit  and  drink  no  water  of 
which  you  have  not  already  tasted  without  con- 
sulting me." 

This  they  agreed  to.  And  one  day,  having 
arrived  at  a  spot  which  they  had  never  visited 
before,  they  found  a  great  lake.  They  did 
not  drink,  but  awaited  the  return  of  their 
King. 

Now  when  he  arrived  he  went  round  the 

73 


74  EASTERN  STORIES 

lake,  and  found  that  all  the  footsteps  led  down 
to  the  lake,  but  none  came  up  again.  And 
he  said:  "Without  doubt  this  is  the  haunt  of 
an  ogre." 

When  this  water-ogre  saw  that  they  were 
not  invading  his  domain  he  appeared  in  the 
form  of  a  terrible  monster  with  a  blue  belly, 
a  white  face,  and  bright  red  hands  and  feet. 
In  this  shape  he  came  out  of  the  water  and 
said  to  the  King:  "Why  are  you  seated  here? 
Go  down  to  the  lake  to  drink."  But  the  King 
said:  "Are  you  not  the  ogre  of  this  water?" 
"Yes,  I  am,"  was  the  answer.  "Do  you  take 
as  your  prey  all  those  who  go  down  into  this 
water?"  "Yes,  I  do,  from  small  birds  up- 
wards. I  never  let  anything  go  which  comes 
down  into  this  water.  I  will  eat  the  lot  of  you, 
too."  "But  we  shall  not  let  you  eat  us."  "Just 
drink  the  water."  "Yes,  we  will  drink  the 
water,  and  yet  not  fall  into  your  power." 
"How  do  you  propose  to  drink  the  water, 
then?"  "Ah,  you  think  we  shall  have  to  go 
down  to  the  water  to  drink;  whereas  we  shall 
not  enter  the  water  at  all,  but  the  whole  eighty 


THE  MONKEY  WHO  SAVED  THE  HERD         75 

thousand  of  us  will  take  a  cane  each  and  drink 
therewith  from  your  lake  as  easily  as  through 
the  hollow  stalk  of  a  lotus.  And  so  you  will 
not  be  able  to  eat  us."  j 

So  saying  the  King  had  a  cane  brought  to 
him,  and  in  true  belief  that  the  miracle  would 
take  place  he  blew  down  the  cane,  which 
straightway  became  hollow  throughout,  with- 
out a  single  knot  being  left  in  its  length.  In 
this  fashion  he  had  another,  and  another 
brought,  and  blew  down  them.  Then  he  made 
the  tour  of  the  lake,  and  commanded,  saying, 
"Let  all  canes  growing  here  become  hollow 
throughout."  Now,  thanks  to  the  saving  good- 
ness of  their  re-born  chiefs,  their  commands 
are  always  fulfilled.  And  henceforth  every 
single  cane  that  grew  round  that  lake  became 
hollow  throughout.  After  giving  his  com- 
mands the  King  seated  himself  with  a  cane  in 
his  hand.  All  the  other  80,000  monkeys,  too, 
seated  themselves  round  the  lake  each  with  a 
cane  in  his  hands.  At  the  same  moment  when 
the  King  sucked  up  the  water  through  his 
cane,  they  all  drank  in  the  same  manner  as 


76  EASTERN  STORIES 

they  sat  on  the  bank.  This  was  the  way  they 
drank,  and  the  ogre  could  get  no  power  over 
any  one  of  them,  so  he  went  off  in  a  rage  to 
his  habitation.  The  King,  with  his  following 
of  80,000  monkeys,  went  back  into  the  forest. 


THE  MALLARD  THAT  ASKED 
FOR  TOO  MUCH 


THE  MALLARD  THAT  ASKED 
FOR  TOO  MUCH 

AND  it  came  to  pass  that  the  Buddha  (to 
be)  was  born  a  Brahmin,  and  growing 
up  was  married  to  a  bride  of  his  own  rank, 
who  bore  him  three  daughters. 

After  his  death  he  was  born  again  as  a 
Golden  Mallard,  and  he  determined  to  give  his 
golden  feathers  one  at  a  time  to  enable  his 
wife  and  daughters  to  live  in  comfort.  So 
away  he  flew  to  where  they  dwelt,  and  alighted 
on  the  central  beam  of  the  roof. 

Seeing  the  Bodisat,  the  wife  and  girls  asked 
where  he  had  come  from,  and  he  told  them 
that  he  was  their  father  who  had  died  and  been 
born  a  Golden  Mallard,  and  that  he  had  come 
to  bring  them  help.  "You  shall  have  my  gold- 
en feathers,  one  by  one,"  he  said.  He  gave 
them  one  and  departed.  From  time  to  time 
he  returned  to  give  them  another  feather,  and 
they  became  quite  wealthy. 

79 


80  EASTERN  STORIES 

But  one  day  the  mother  said:  "There's  no 
trusting  animals,  my  children.  Who's  to  say 
your  father  might  not  go  away  one  of  these 
days  and  never  return?  Let  us  use  our  time, 
and  pluck  him  clean  the  next  time  he  comes, 
so  as  to  make  sure  of  all  his  feathers."  Think- 
ing this  would  pain  him,  the  daughters  refused. 
The  mother  in  her  greed  plucked  the  Mallard 
herself,  and  as  she  plucked  them  against  his 
wish,  they  ceased  to  be  golden  and  became 
like  a  crane's  feathers.  His  wings  grew  again, 
but  they  were  plain  white ;  he  flew  away  to  his, 
own  abode  and  never  came  back. 


THE   MERCHANT  WHO   OVER- 
CAME   ALL   OBSTACLES 


THE   MERCHANT  WHO   OVER- 
CAME  ALL   OBSTACLES 

,NCE  upon  a  time  the  Buddha  (to  be) 
was  born  in  a  merchant's  family;  and 
when  he  grew  up  he  went  about  trafficking 
with  five  hundred  carts. 

One  day  he  arrived  at  a  sandy  desert  twenty 
leagues  across.  The  sand  in  that  desert  was 
so  fine  that  when  taken  in  the  closed  fist  it 
could  not  be  kept  in  the  hand.  After  the  sun 
had  risen  it  became  as  hot  as  a  mass  of  char- 
coal, so  that  no  man  could  walk  on  it.  Those, 
therefore,  who  had  to  travel  over  it  took  wood 
and  water  and  oil  and  rice  in  their  carts,  and 
traveled  during  the  night.  And  at  daybreak 
they  formed  an  encampment,  and  spread  an 
awning  over  it,  and,  taking  their  meals  early, 
they  passed  the  day  sitting  in  the  shade.  At 
sunset  they  supped ;  and  when  the  ground  had 
become  cool,  they  yoked  their  oxen  and  went 
on.    The  traveling  was  like  a  voyage  over  the 

83 


84  EASTERN  STORIES 

sea:  a  so-called  land-pilot  had  to  be  chosen, 
and  he  brought  the  caravan  safe  to  the  other 
side  by  his  knowledge  of  the  stars. 

On  this  occasion  the  merchant  of  our  story 
traversed  the  desert  in  that  way.  And  when 
he  had  passed  over  fifty-nine  leagues,  he 
thought:  "Now  in  one  more  night  we  shall  get 
out  of  the  sand."  And  after  supper  he  directed 
the  wood  and  water  to  be  thrown  away,  and 
the  wagons  to  be  yoked,  and  so  set  out.  The 
pilot  had  cushions  arranged  on  the  foremost 
cart,  and  lay  down  looking  at  the  stars,  and 
directing  them  where  to  drive.  But,  worn  out 
by  want  of  rest  during  the  long  march,  he  fell 
asleep,  and  did  not  perceive  that  the  oxen  had 
turned  around  and  taken  the  same  road  by 
which  they  had  come. 

The  oxen  went  on  the  whole  night  through. 
Towards  dawn  the  pilot  woke  up,  and,  observ- 
ing the  stars,  called  out:  "Stop  the  wagons! 
Stop  the  wagons!"  The  day  broke  just  as  they 
had  stopped,  and  were  drawing  up  the  carts  in 
a  line.  Then  the  men  cried  out:  "Why,  this  is 
the  very  encampment  we  left  yesterday !  Our 
wood  and  water  is  all  gone!    We  are  lost!" 


THE  MERCHANT  WHO  OVERCAME        85 

And  unyoking  the  oxen,  and  spreading  the 
canopy  over  their  heads,  they  lay  down  in  de- 
spondency, each  one  under  his  wagon. 

But  the  Bodisat,  saying  to  himself,  "If  I 
lose  heart,  all  these  will  perish,"  walked  about 
while  the  morning  was  yet  cool.  And  on  see- 
ing a  tuft  of  Kusa  grass,  he  thought:  "This 
must  have  grown  by  attracting  some  water 
which  there  must  be  beneath  it." 

And  he  made  them  bring  a  hoe  and  dig  in 
that  spot.  And  they  dug  sixty  cubits  deep. 
And  when  they  had  got  thus  far,  the  spade  of 
the  diggers  struck  on  a  rock,  and  as  soon  as  it 
struck,  they  all  gave  up  in  despair. 

But  the  Bodisat  thought,  "There  must  be 
water  under  that  rock,"  and,  stooping  down, 
applied  his  ear  to  it  and  tested  the  sound  of 
it.  And  he  heard  the  sound  of  water  gurgling 
beneath.  And  he  got  out  and  called  his  page. 
"My  lad,  if  you  give  up  now,  we  shall  all  be 
lost.  Don't  you  lose  heart.  Take  this  iron 
hammer,  and  go  down  into  the  pit  and  give 
the  rock  a  good  blow." 

The  lad  obeyed,  and  though  they  all  stood 
by  in  despair,  he  went  down  full  of  determina- 

/ 


86  EASTERN  STORIES 

tion,  and  struck  at  the  stone.  And  the  rock 
split  in  two  and  fell  below,  and  no  longer 
blocked  up  the  stream.  And  water  rose  till 
its  brim  was  the  height  of  a  palm-tree  in  the 
well.  And  they  all  drank  of  the  water,  and 
bathed  in  it.  Then  they  split  up  their  extra 
yokes  and  axles,  and  cooked  rice  and  ate  it, 
and  fed  their  oxen  with  it.  And  when  the  sun 
set,  they  put  up  a  flag  by  the  well  and  went 
to  the  place  appointed.  There  they  sold  their 
merchandise  at  double  and  treble  profit,  and 
returned  to  their  own  home,  and  lived  to  a 
good  old  age,  and  then  passed  away  according 
to  their  deeds.  And  the  Bodisat  gave  gifts, 
and  did  other  virtuous  acts,  and  passed  away 
according  to  his  deeds. 


THE  ELEPHANT  THAT  WAS 
HONORED  IN  OLD  AGE 


THE  ELEPHANT  THAT  WAS 
HONORED  IN  OLD  AGE 

AND  the  Buddha  as  Prime  Minister  served 
the  King.  Now  there  was  a  certain  She- 
Elephant  endowed  with  great  might  which 
enabled  her  to  go  a  hundred  leagues  a  day. 
She  did  the  duties  of  messenger  to  the  King, 
and  in  battle  she  fought  and  crushed  the 
enemy.  The  King  said:  "She  is  very  service- 
able to  me." 

He  gave  her  ornaments,  and  caused  all 
honor  to  be  shown  her.  Then,  when  she  was 
weak  from  age,  the  King  took  away  all  the 
honor  he  had  bestowed. 

From  that  time  she  was  unprotected,  and 
lived  by  eating  grass  and  leaves  in  the  forest. 

And  one  day  the  chief  Potter  had  not 
enough  oxen  to  yoke  to  the  carts  which  car- 
ried the  material  for  making  clay.  And  the 
King  said:  "Where  is  our  She-Elephant?" 

89 


90  EASTERN  STORIES 

"O  King!  she  is  wandering  at  her  will  in 
the  forest." 

And  the  King  said:  "Do  thou  yoke  her  to 
the  cart." 

And  the  Potter  said:  "  Good,  O  King!" 
And  he  did  even  as  the  King  commanded. 

But  when  this  insult  was  offered  to  the 
Elephant,  she  came  to  the  Prime  Minister 
and  said:  "O  Wise  Being!  I  pray  you  listen 
to  my  tale.  When  I  was  young,  great  strength 
was  mine;  and  I  did  walk  a  hundred  leagues 
to  bear  the  King's  messages,  and,  with  weapons 
bound  upon  my  body,  I  did  take  part  in 
battle,  crushing  the  enemy  beneath  my  feet. 
And  now  I  am  old,  and  the  King  hath  with- 
drawn all  the  honors  he  bestowed  upon  me, 
and  not  content  with  allowing  me  to  wander 
and  feed  on  grass,  unprotected  in  my  old  age, 
he  has  even  caused  me  to  be  yoked  to  the 
Potter's  cart  as  are  the  oxen." 

Then  the  Buddha  promised  that  he  would 
plead  her  cause,  and  appearing  before  the 
King,  he  asked:  "Great  King,  did  not  a  She- 
Elephant  covered  with  weapons  do  battle  for 
thee;  and  on  such  and  such  a  day,  with  a 


AN  ELEPHANT  HONORED  IN  OLD  AGE         91 

writing  upon  her  neck,  did  she  not  go  a 
hundred  leagues  on  a  message?  Thou  didst 
bestow  upon  her  great  honor.  I  pray  thee 
tell  me,  where  is  she  now?" 

And  the  King,  in  some  confusion,  made 
answer:  "Behold,  she  is  yoked  to  a  cart." 

Then  did  the  Buddha  speak  in  sorrowful 
anger  to  the  King,  and  rebuked  him,  saying: 
"Thou  hast  yoked  this  Elephant  to  a  cart  after 
all  the  services  she  has  rendered.  Then  was 
the  honor  only  bestowed  because  of  more 
services  expected?" 

And  all  who  heard  him  received  his  instruc- 
tion, and  the  King  restored  the  She-Elephant 
to  her  former  place  of  honor. 


THE  FAITHFUL  FRIEND 


THE  FAITHFUL  FRIEND 

LONG  ago,  when  Brahma-datta  was  reign- 
ing in  Benares,  the  Bodisat  became  his 
Minister. 

At  that  time  a  dog  used  to  go  to  the 
state  elephant's  stable,  and  feed  on  the  lumps 
of  rice  which  fell  where  the  elephant  fed. 
Being  attracted  there  by  the  food,  he  soon 
became  great  friends  with  the  elephant,  and 
used  to  eat  close  by  him.  At  last  neither  of 
them  was  happy  without  the  other;  and  the 
dog  used  to  amuse  himself  by  catching  hold 
of  the  elephant's  trunk,  and  swinging  to 
and  fro. 

But  one  day  there  came  a  peasant  who  gave 
the  elephant-keeper  money  for  the  dog,  and 
took  it  back  with  him  to  his  village.  From 
that  time  the  elephant,  missing  the  dog,  would 
neither  eat  nor  drink  nor  bathe.  And  they 
let  the  King  know  about  it. 

He  sent  the  Bodisat,  saying:  "Do  you* go, 

95 


96  EASTERN  STORIES 

Pandit,  and  find  out  what's  the  cause  of  the 
elephant's  behavior." 

So  he  went  to  the  stable,  and  seeing  how 
sad  the  elephant  looked,  said  to  himself: 
"There  seems  to  be  nothing  bodily  the  matter 
with  him.  He  must  be  so  overwhelmed  with 
grief  by  missing  some  one,  I  should  think,  who 
had  become  near  and  dear  to  him."  And  he 
asked  the  elephant-keepers:  "Is  there  any  one 
with  whom  he  is  particularly  intimate?" 

"Certainly,  Sir!  There  was  a  dog  of  whom 
he  was  very  fond  indeed." 

"Where  is  it  now?" 

"Some  man  or  other  took  it  away." 

"Do  you  know  where  the  man  lives?" 

"No,  Sir!" 

Then  the  Bodisat  went  and  told  the  King. 
"There's  nothing  the  matter  with  the  elephant, 
your  majesty;  but  he  was  great  friends  with 
a  dog,  and  I  fancy  it's  through  missing  it  that 
he  refuses  his  food." 

When  the  King  heard  what  he  said,  he 
asked  what  was  now  to  be  done. 

"Have  a  proclamation  made,  O  King,  to 
this  effect :  'A  man  is  said  to  have  taken  away 


THE  FAITHFUL  FRIEND  97 

a  dog  of  whom  our  state  elephant  was  fond. 
In  whose  house  soever  that  dog  shall  be 
found,  he  shall  be  fined  so  much !'  " 

The  King  did  so;  and,  as  soon  as  he  heard 
of  it,  the  man  turned  the  dog  loose.  The  dog 
hastened  back,  and  went  close  up  to  the  ele- 
phant. The  elephant  took  him  up  in  his  trunk 
and  placed  him  on  his  forehead,  and  wept  and 
cried,  and  took  him  down  again,  and  watched 
him  as  he  fed.    And  then  he  took  his  own  food. 

Then  the  King  paid  great  honor  to  the 
Bodisat  for  knowing  the  motives  even  of 
animals. 


THE  HAWK  AND  THE  OSPREY 


THE  HAWK  AND  THE  OSPREY 

THERE  lived  once,  on  the  shores  of  a 
natural  lake,  a  Hawk  on  the  south  shore, 
a  She-Hawk  on  the  west  shore,  on  the  north 
a  Lion,  the  king  of  beasts,  on  the  east  the 
Osprey,  the  king  of  birds,  in  the  middle  a 
Tortoise  on  a  small  island. 

Now  the  Hawk  asked  the  She-Hawk  to 
become  his  wife.  She  asked  him :  "Have  you 
any  friends?"  "No,  madam,"  he  replied.  "But," 
she  said,  "we  must  have  some  friends  who 
can  defend  us  against  any  danger  or  trouble 
that  may  arise.  Therefore  I  beg  of  you  to 
find  some  friends."  "But,"  said  the  Hawk, 
"with  whom  shall  I  make  friends?"  "Why, 
with  King  Osprey,  who  lives  on  the  eastern 
shore,  with  King  Lion  on  the  north,  and  with 
the  Tortoise  who  lives  in  the  middle  of  the 
lake." 

And  he  took  her   advice.   And  all  these 

creatures  formed  a  bond  of  friendship,  and 

101 


102  EASTERN  STORIES 

promised  to  protect  each  other  in  time  of 
danger. 

Now  in  time  the  Mother-Hawk  had  two 
sons.  One  day  when  the  wings  of  the  young 
birds  were  not  yet  callow,  some  of  the  country- 
folk went  foraging  through  the  woods  all  day 
and  found  nothing. 

They  went  down  to  the  lake  to  catch  fish 
or  a  tortoise,  and,  in  order  to  drive  away  the 
gnats,  they  made  a  fire  by  rubbing  sticks 
together.  The  smoke  annoyed  the  young 
birds,  and  they  uttered  a  cry.  The  men  said: 
"  'Tis  the  cry  of  birds — we  will  make  a  fire 
and  eat  their  flesh."  They  made  the  fire  blaze 
and  built  it  up. 

But  the  Mother-Bird  heard  the  sound,  and 
thought:  "These  men  will  eat  our  young  ones. 
I  will  send  my  mate  to  the  Great  Osprey." 
This  she  did,  and  the  bird  promised  to  help. 
He  sat  upon  a  tree-top  near  that  in  which  the 
Hawks  had  built  their  nests,  and  no  sooner 
did  the  men  begin  to  climb  up  the  tree  than 
the  Osprey  dived  into  the  lake,  and  from 
wings   and  back   sprinkled   water  upon   the 


THE  HAWK  AND  THE  OSPREY  103 

brands  and  put  the  fire  out.  Down  came  the 
men  and  made  another  fire,  but  again  the 
Osprey  put  it  out,  and  this  went  on  until 
midnight. 

And  the  bird  was  tired  out  and  his  eyes 
were  bloodshot.  And  the  Mother  -  Bird 
whispered  to  her  mate :  "My  Lord,  the  Osprey 
is  worn  out!  Go  and  tell  the  Tortoise,  that 
this  weary  bird  may  have  a  rest." 

But  the  Osprey  in  a  loud  voice  said  he 
would  gladly  give  his  life  to  guard  the  tree. 
And  the  grateful  Hawk  said:  "I  pray  thee, 
friend  Osprey,  rest  awhile."  Then  he  went 
for  help  to  the  Tortoise,  who  said  he  would 
gladly  help,  but  his  son  said:  "I  would  not 
have  my  old  father  troubled,  but  I  will  gladly 
go  in  his  stead." 

And  the  Tortoise  collected  mud  and 
quenched  the  flame.  Then  said  the  men:  "Let 
us  kill  the  Tortoise:  he  will  be  enough  for 
all."  But  when  they  plucked  creepers  to  bind 
him  and  tried  to  turn  him  over,  he  dragged 
them  into  the  water.  And  they  said:  "What 
strange  things  have  happened  to  us!    Half 


104.  EASTERN  STORIES 

the  night  the  Osprey  has  put  out  our  fire,  and 
now  the  Tortoise  has  dragged  us  in  after  him 
and  made  us  swallow  water.  Let  us  light 
another  fire,  and  at  sunrise  we  will  eat  these 
young  Hawks." 

The  Hen-Bird  heard  the  noise  and  said: 
"My  husband — sooner  or  later  these  men  will 
devour  our  young  and  depart.  You  go  and 
tell  our  friend  the  Lion."  At  once  the  Hawk 
went  to  the  Lion,  who  asked  him  why  he  came 
at  such  an  unreasonable  hour.  But  when  the 
whole  matter  was  put  before  him,  he  said: 
"Go  and  comfort  your  young  ones,  for  I  will 
save  them."  And  then  he  came  forth  with 
a  mighty  tread,  and  the  men  were  terrified. 

"Alas!"  they  cried.  "The  Osprey  hath  put 
out  our  fire.  The  Tortoise  dragged  us  into  the 
water.  But  now  we  are  done  for:  the  Lion 
will  destroy  us  at  once."  They  ran  this  way 
and  that,  and  when  the  noble  beast  stood  at 
the  foot  of  the  tree,  no  trace  could  be  found 
of  the  frightened  men. 

Then  the  Osprey,  the  Hawk,  the  She- 
Hawk,  and  the  Tortoise  came  up  to  greet 
him,  and  they  discoursed  for  a  long  time  on 


THE  HAWK  AND  THE  OSPREY  105 

the  value  of  friendship.  And  this  company 
of  friends  lived  all  their  lives  without  breaking 
their  bond.  And  they  passed  away  according 
to  their  deeds. 


GRANDMOTHER'S  GOLDEN  DISH 


GRANDMOTHER'S  GOLDEN  DISH 

LONG  ago  the  Bodisat  was  a  dealer  in 
tin  and  brass  ware,  named  Seriva,  in 
the  country  of  that  name.  This  Seriva,  to- 
gether with  another  dealer  in  tin  and  brass 
ware,  who  was  an  avaricious  man,  crossed  the 
river  Telavaha,  and  entered  the  town  called 
Andhapura.  And,  dividing  the  streets  of  the 
city  between  them,  the  Bodisat  went  round 
selling  his  goods  in  the  street  allotted  to  him, 
while  the  other  took  the  street  that  fell  to  him. 
Now  in  that  city  there  was  a  wealthy  family 
reduced  to  abject  poverty.  All  the  sons  and 
brothers  in  the  family  had  died,  and  all  its 
property  had  been  lost.  Only  one  girl  and 
her  grandmother  were  left;  and  those  two 
gained  their  living  by  serving  others  for  hire. 
There  was  indeed  in  the  house  the  vessel  of 
gold  out  of  which  the  head  of  the  house  used 
to  eat  in  the  days  of  its  prosperity;  but  it 
was   covered  with   dirt,   and  had   long  lain 

109 


110  EASTERN  STORIES 

neglected  and  unused  among  the  pots   and 
pans.     And  they  did  not  even  know  that  it 

was  of  gold. 

At  that  time  the  avaricious  hawker,  as  he 
was  going  along,  calling  out,  "Buy  my  water- 
pots!  Buy  my  water-pots!"  came  to  the  door 
of  their  house.  When  the  girl  saw  him,  she 
said  to  her  grandmother:  "Mother!  do  buy  me 
an  ornament." 

"But  we  are  poor,  dear.  What  shall  we 
give  in  exchange  for  it?" 

"This  dish  of  ours  is  no  use  to  us;  you  can 
give  that  away  and  get  one." 

The  old  woman  called  the  hawker,  and, 
after  asking  him  to  take  a  seat,  gave  him 
the  dish,  and  said:  "Will  you  take  this,  Sir, 
and  give  something  to  your  little  sister  for  it?" 

The  hawker  took  the  dish,  and  thought: 
"This  must  be  gold!"  And  turning  it  round, 
he  scratched  a  line  on  its  back  with  a  needle, 
and  found  that  it  was  so.  Then,  hoping  to 
get  the  dish  without  giving  them  anything, 
he  said:  "What  is  this  worth?  It  is  not  even 
worth  a  halfpenny!"    And  throwing  it  on  the 


GRANDMOTHER'S  GOLDEN  DISH        111 

ground,  he  got  up  from  his  seat  and  went 
away. 

Now,,  it  was  allowed  to  either  hawker  to 
enter  the  street  which  the  other  had  left.  And 
the  Bodisat  came  into  that  street,  and  calling 
out,  "Buy  my  water-pots,"  came  up  to  the 
door  of  that  very  house.  And  the  girl  spoke 
to  her  grandmother  as  before.  But  the  grand- 
mother said:  "My  child,  the  dealer  who  came 
just  now  threw  the  dish  on  the  floor,  and  went 
away;  what  have  I  now  got  to  give  him  in 
exchange?" 

"That  merchant,  mother  dear,  was  a  surly 
man;  but  this  one  looks  pleasant,  and  has  a 
kind  voice:  perchance  he  may  take  it." 

"Call  him,  then,"  said  she. 

So  she  called  him.  And  when  he  had  come 
in  and  sat  down,  they  gave  him  the  dish.  He 
saw  that  it  was  gold,  and  said:  "Mother!  this 
dish  is  worth  a  hundred  thousand.  All  the 
goods  in  my  possession  are  not  equal  to  it  in 
value!" 

"But,  Sir,  a  hawker  who  came  just  now 
threw  it  on  the  ground,  and  went  away,  say- 


112  EASTERN  STORIES 

ing  it  was  not  worth  a  halfpenny.  It  must 
have  been  changed  into  gold  by  the  power  of 
your  virtue,  so  we  make  you  a  present  of  it." 

The  Bodisat  gave  them  all  the  cash  he  had 
in  hand  (five  hundred  pieces),  and  all  his 
stock-in-trade,  worth  five  hundred  more.  He 
asked  of  them  only  to  let  him  keep  eight  pen- 
nies, and  the  bag  and  the  yoke  that  he  used  to 
carry  his  things  with.  And  these  he  took  and 
departed. 

And  going  quickly  to  the  river-side,  he  gave 
those  eight  pennies  to  a  boatman,  and  got 
into  the  boat. 

But  the  covetous  hawker  came  back  to  the 
house,  and  said:  "Bring  out  that  dish,  I'll  give 
you  something  for  it." 

Then  she  scolded  him,  and  said:  "You  said 
our  gold  dish,  worth  a  hundred  thousand,  was 
not  worth  a  halfpenny.  But  a  just  dealer, 
who  seems  to  be  your  master,  gave  us  a  thou- 
sand for  it,  and  has  taken  it  away." 

When  he  heard  this  he  called  out: 
"Through  this  fellow  I  have  lost  a  golden 
pot  worth — Oh,  worth  a  hundred  thousand! 
He  has  ruined  me  altogether!"     And  bitter 


GRANDMOTHER'S  GOLDEN  DISH        113 

sorrow  overcame  him,  and  he  was  unable  to 
retain  his  presence  of  mind,  and  he  lost  all 
self-command.  And  scattering  the  money  he 
had,  and  all  the  goods,  at  the  door  of  the  house, 
he  seized  as  a  club  the  yoke  by  which  he  had 
carried  them,  and  tore  off  his  clothes,  and 
pursued  after  the  Bodisat. 

When  he  reached  the  river-side,  he  saw  the 
Bodisat  going  away,  and  he  cried  out :  "Hallo, 
Boatman!  stop  the  boat!" 

But  the  Bodisat  said:  "Don't  stop!"  and  so 
prevented  that.  And  as  the  other  gazed  and 
gazed  at  the  departing  Bodisat,  he  was  torn 
with  violent  grief;  his  heart  grew  hot,  and 
blood  flowed  from  his  mouth  until  his  heart 
broke — like  tank-mud  in  the  heat  of  the  sun. 

Thus  harboring  hatred  against  the  Bodisat, 
he  brought  about  on  that  very  spot  his  own 
destruction.  This  was  the  first  time  that 
Devadatta  harbored  hatred  against  the 
Bodisat. 

But  the  Bodisat  gave  gifts,  and  did  other 
good  acts,  and  passed  away  according  to  his 
deeds. 


THE  ELEPHANT  THAT  SPARED 
LIFE 


THE  ELEPHANT  THAT  SPARED 
LIFE 

AT  that  time  the  Bodisat  was  born  as  a 
nobleman's  son.  On  the  naming-day 
they  gave  him  the  name  of  Prince  Magha,  and 
when  he  grew  up  he  was  known  as  "Magha 
the  young  Brahmin." 

His  parents  procured  him  a  wife  from  a 
family  of  equal  rank;  and,  increasing  in  sons 
and  daughters,  he  became  a  great  giver  of 
gifts,  and  kept  the  Five  Commandments. 

In  that  village  there  were  as  many  as  thirty 
families;  and  one  day  the  men  of  those 
families  stopped  in  the  middle  of  the  village 
to  transact  some  village  business.  The  Bodisat 
removed  with  his  feet  the  lumps  of  soil  on 
the  place  where  he  stood,  and  made  the  spot 
convenient  to  stand  on;  but  another  came  up 
and  stood  there.  Then  he  smoothed  out  an- 
other spot,  and  took  his  stand  there;  but  an- 
other man  came  and  stood  upon  it.    Still  the 

117 


118  EASTERN  STORIES 

Bodisat  tried  again  and  again,  with  the  same 
result,  until  he  had  made  convenient  standing- 
room  for  all  the  thirty. 

The  next  time  he  had  an  open-roofed  shed 
put  up  there ;  and  then  pulled  that  down,  and 
built  a  hall,  and  had  benches  spread  in  it,  and 
a  water-pot  placed  there.  On  another  occa- 
sion those  thirty  men  were  reconciled  by  the 
Bodisat,  who  confirmed  them  in  the  Five 
Commandments;  and  thenceforward  he  con- 
tinued with  them  in  works  of  piety. 

Whilst  they  were  so  living  they  used  to 
rise  up  early,  go  out  with  bill-hooks  and  crow- 
bars in  their  hands,  tear  up  with  the  crowbars 
the  stones  in  the  four  high  roads  and  village 
paths,  and  roll  them  away,  take  away  the 
trees  which  would  be  in  the  way  of  vehicles, 
make  the  rough  places  plain,  form  causeways, 
dig  ponds,  build  public  halls,  give  gifts,  and 
keep  the  Commandments — thus,  in  many 
ways,  all  the  dwellers  in  the  village  listened  to 
the  exhortations  of  the  Bodisat,  and  kept  the 
Commandments. 

Now  the  village  headman  said  to  himself: 


THE  ELEPHANT  THAT  SPARED  LIFE     119 

"I  used  to  have  great  gain  from  fines,  and 
taxes,  and  pot-money,  when  these  fellows 
drank  strong  drink,  or  took  life,  or  broke  the 
other  Commandments.  But  now  Magha  the 
young  Brahmin  has  determined  to  have  the 
Commandments  kept,  and  permits  none  to 
take  life,  or  to  do  anything  else  that  is  wrong. 
I'll  make  them  keep  the  Commandments  with 
a  vengeance!" 

And  he  went  in  a  rage  to  the  King,  and 
said:  "O  King!  there  are  a  number  of  robbers 
going  about  sacking  the  villages !" 

"Go  and  bring  them  up!"  said  the  King 
in  reply. 

And  he  went,  and  brought  back  all  those 
men  as  prisoners,  and  had  it  announced  to 
the  King  that  the  robbers  were  brought  up. 
And  the  King,  without  inquiring  what  they 
had  done,  gave  orders  to  have  them  all  tram- 
pled to  death  by  elephants! 

Then  they  made  them  all  lie  down  in  the 
courtyard,  and  fetched  the  elephant.  And  the 
Bodisat  exhorted  them,  saying:  "Keep  the 
Commandments  in  mind.    Regard  them  all — 


120  EASTERN  STORIES 

the  slanderer,  and  the  King,  and  the  elephant 
— with  feelings  as  kind  as  you  harbor  to- 
wards yourselves!" 

And  they  did  so. 

Then  men  led  up  the  elephant;  but  though 
they  brought  him  to  the  spot,  he  would  not 
begin  his  work,  but  trumpeted  forth  a  mighty 
cry,  and  took  to  flight.  And  they  brought  up 
another  and  another,  but  they  all  ran  away. 

"There  must  be  some  drug  in  their  posses- 
sion," said  the  King;  and  gave  orders  to  have 
them  searched.  So  they  searched,  but  found 
nothing,  and  told  the  King  so. 

"Then  they  must  be  repeating  some  spell. 
Ask  them  if  they  have  any  spell  to  utter." 

The  officials  asked  them,  and  the  Bodisat 
said  there  was.  And  they  told  the  King,  and 
•he  had  them  all  called  before  him,  and  said: 
"Tell  me  that  spell  you  know!" 

Then  the  Bodisat  spoke,  and  said:  "O  King! 
we  have  no  other  spell  but  this — that  we  de- 
stroy no  life,  not  even  of  grass;  that  we  take 
nothing  which  is  not  given  to  us;  that  we  are 
never  guilty  of  unfaithfulness,  nor  speak 
falsehood,  nor  drink  intoxicants;  that  we  ex- 


THE  ELEPHANT  THAT  SPARED  LIFE     121 

ercise  ourselves  in  love,  and  give  gifts;  that 
we  make  rough  places  plain,  dig  ponds,  and 
put  up  rest-houses — this  is  our  spell,  this  is 
our  defense,  this  is  our  strength!" 

Then  the  King  had  confidence  in  them,  and 
gave  them  all  the  property  in  the  house  of 
the  slanderer,  and  made  him  their  slave;  and 
bestowed,  too,  the  elephant  upon  them,  and 
made  them  a  grant  of  the  village. 


HOW  THE  ANTELOPE  WAS 
CAUGHT 


HOW  THE  ANTELOPE  WAS 
CAUGHT 

/~\NCE  upon  a  time  the  King  of  Benares 
V-^  had  a  gardener  named  Sanjaya.  Now, 
a  swift  antelope  who  had  come  to  the  garden 
took  to  flight  as  soon  as  it  saw  Sanjaya.  But 
Sanjaya  did  not  frighten  it  away;  and  when 
it  had  come  again  and  again  it  began  to  walk 
about  in  the  garden.  And  day  by  day  the 
gardener  used  to  pluck  the  various  fruits  and 
flowers  in  the  garden  and  take  them  away  to 
the  King. 

Now,  one  day  the  King  asked  him:  "I  say, 
friend  gardener,  is  there  anything  strange  in 
the  garden  so  far  as  you've  noticed?" 

"I've  noticed  nothing,  O  King,  save  that  an 
antelope  is  in  the  habit  of  coming  and  wander- 
ing about  there.    That  I  often  see." 

"But  could  you  catch  it?" 

"If  I  had  a  little  honey  I  could  bring  it 
right  inside  the  palace  here!" 

125 


126  EASTERN  STORIES 

The  King  gave  him  the  honey;  and  he  took 
it,  went  to  the  garden,  smeared  it  on  the  grass 
at  the  spot  the  antelope  frequented,  and  hid 
himself.  When  the  deer  came  and  had  eaten 
the  honey-smeared  grass,  it  was  bound  with 
the  lust  of  taste;  and  from  that  time  went 
nowhere  else,  but  came  exclusively  to  the 
garden.  And  as  the  gardener  saw  that  it  was 
allured  by  the  honey-smeared  grass,  he  in  due 
course  showed  himself.  For  a  few  days  the 
antelope  took  to  flight  on  seeing  him.  But 
after  seeing  him  again  and  again  it  acquired 
confidence,  and  gradually  came  to  eat  grass 
from  the  gardener's  hand.  And  when  the 
gardener  saw  that  its  confidence  was  gained, 
he  strewed  the  path  right  up  to  the  palace  as 
thick  with  branches  as  if  he  were  covering  it 
with  mats,  hung  a  gourdful  of  honey  over  his 
shoulder,  carried  a  bundle  of  grass  at  his  waist, 
and  then  kept  sprinkling  honey-smeared  grass 
in  front  of  the  antelope  till  he  led  him  within 
the  palace. 

As  soon  as  the  deer  had  got  inside,  they 
shut  the  door.  The  antelope,  seeing  men, 
began  to  tremble  and  quake  with  the  fear  of 


HOW  THE  ANTELOPE  WAS  CAUGHT     127 

death,  and  ran  hither  and  thither  about  the 
hall.  The  King  came  down  from  his  upper 
chamber,  and,  seeing  the  trembling  creature, 
said:  "Such  is  the  nature  of  an  antelope,  that 
it  will  not  go  for  a  week  afterwards  to  a  place 
where  it  has  seen  men,  nor  its  life  long  to  a 
place  where  it  has  been  frightened.  Yet  this 
one,  with  just  such  a  disposition,  and  accus- 
tomed only  to  the  jungle,  has  now,  bound  by 
the  lust  of  taste,  come  to  just  such  a  place. 
,Verily,  there  is  nothing  worse  in  the  world  than 
this  lust  of  taste!" 

And  when  in  other  words  he  had  shown 
the  danger  of  greed,  he  let  the  anteloDe  go 
back  to  the  forest. 


THE  BANYAN  DEER 


THE  BANYAN  DEER 

LONG  ago  the  Bodisat  came  to  life  as  a 
deer.  When  he  was  born  he  was  of  a 
golden  color;  his  eyes  were  like  round  jewels; 
his  horns  were  white  as  silver;  his  mouth  was 
red  as  a  cluster  of  kamala  flowers;  his  hoofs 
were  as  bright  and  hard  as  lacquer- work;  his 
tail  as  fine  as  the  tail  of  a  Thibetan  ox;  and 
his  body  as  large  in  size  as  a  foal's. 

He  lived  in  the  forest  with  an  attendant 
herd  of  five  hundred  deer,  under  the  name  of 
the  King  of  the  Banyan  Deer;  and  not  far 
from  him  there  dwelt  another  deer,  golden  as 
he,  under  the  name  of  the  Monkey  Deer,  with 
a  like  attendant  herd. 

The  King  of  that  country  was  devoted  to 
hunting,  never  ate  without  meat,  and  used  to 
summon  all  the  townspeople  to  go  hunting 
every  day  to  the  destruction  of  their  ordinary 
work.  The  people  thought,  "This  King  puts 
an  end  to  all  our  work.    Suppose  we  make  a 

131 


1S2  EASTERN  STORIES 

park,  provide  food  and  drink  for  the  deer. 
Then  we  will  drive  them  into  the  park,  close 
the  entrance  and  deliver  them  to  the  King." 

This  they  did,  surrounding  the  very  place 
where  the  Banyan  Deer  and  the  Monkey  Deer 
were  living.  When  the  King  heard  this,  he 
went  to  the  park,  and  seeing  there  the  two 
golden-colored  deer,  he  granted  them  their 
lives.  But  henceforth  he  would  go  himself  to 
shoot  the  deer  and  bring  it  home.  Sometimes 
his  cook  would  go  and  shoot  one.  The  deer, 
as  soon  as  they  saw  the  bow,  would  quake  with 
fear  of  Death,  and  run  away;  but  when  they 
had  been  hit  once  or  twice,  they  became  weary 
or  wounded  and  were  killed.  And  the  herd 
told  their  King,  who  sent  for  the  Monkey 
Deer  and  said:  "Friend,  almost  all  the  Deer 
are  being  destroyed.  Now,  though  they  cer- 
tainly must  die,  yet  henceforth  let  them  not 
be  wounded  with  arrows.  Let  the  deer  take 
it  by  turns  to  go  to  the  place  of  execution. 
One  day  let  the  lot  fall  on  my  herd,  and  the 
next  day  on  yours." 

He  agreed,  and  thenceforth  the  deer  whose 
turn  it  was  used  to  go  down  and  lie  down  after 


THE  BANYAN  DEER  139 

placing  his  neck  on  the  block  of  execution. 
And  the  cook  used  to  come  and  carry  off  the 
one  he  found  lying  there. 

But  one  day  the  lot  fell  upon  a  roe  in  the 
Monkey  Deer  who  was  with  young.  She  went 
to  the  Monkey  Deer  and  said:  "Lord!  I  am 
with  young.  When  I  have  brought  forth  my 
son,  we  will  both  take  our  turn.  Order  the 
bows  to  pass  me  by." 

"I  cannot  make  your  lot,"  said  he,  "fall 
upon  the  others.  You  know  well  enough  it 
has  fallen  upon  you.  Go  away!"  Receiving 
no  help  from  him,  she  went  to  the  Bodisat 
and  told  him  the  matter.  He  listened  to  her 
quietly  and  said:  "Be  it  so!  Do  you  go  back. 
I  will  relieve  you  of  your  turn."  And  he  went 
himself  and  laid  his  head  on  the  block  of 
execution. 

The  cook,  seeing  him,  exclaimed:  "The 
King  of  the  Deer  whose  life  was  promised  to 
him  is  lying  in  the  place  of  execution.  What 
does  it  mean?"  And  he  went  hastily,  and  told 
the  King. 

The  King  no  sooner  heard  it  than  he 
mounted  his  chariot  and  proceeded  with  a 


134  EASTERN  STORIES 

great  retinue  to  the  place,  and  beholding  the 
Bodisat,  said:  "My  friend,  the  King  of  the 
Deer!  Did  I  not  grant  you  your  life?  Why 
are  you  lying  here?" 

"O  great  King!  A  roe  with  young  came  and 
told  me  that  the  lot  had  fallen  upon  her.  Now 
I  could  not  ask  another  to  take  her  place,  so 
I,  giving  my  life  for  her,  have  lain  down. 
Harbor  no  further  suspicion,  O  great  King!" 

"My  Lord,  the  golden-colored  King  of 
the  Deer!  I  never  yet  saw,  even  among  men, 
one  so  full  of  forbearance,  kindness  and  com- 
passion. I  am  pleased  with  thee  in  this  matter ! 
Rise  up.  I  grant  your  lives,  both  to  you  and 
to  her!" 

"But  though  we  be  safe,  what  shall  the 
rest  do,  O  King  of  men?" 

"Then  I  grant  their  lives  to  the  rest,  my 
Lord." 

"Thus,  then,  great  King,  the  deer  in  the 
park  will  have  gained  security,  but  what  will 
the  others  do?" 

"They  also  shall  not  be  molested." 

"Great  King!  even  though  the  deer  dwell 


THE  BANYAN  DEER  135 

secure,  what  shall  the  rest  of  the  four-footed 

creatures  do?" 

"They  shall  also  be  free  from  fear." 
"Great  King,  even  though  the  quadrupeds 

are  in  safety,  what  shall  the  flock  of  birds  do?" 
"Well,  I  grant  the  same  boon  to  them." 
"Great  King!  the  birds  then  will  obtain 

peace;  but  what  of  the  fish  who  dwell  in  the 

water?" 

"They  shall  have  peace  as  well." 

Then  the  Great  Being  having  interceded 

with  the  King  for  all  creatures,  said: 

"Walk   in   righteousness,    O    great   King! 

Doing   justice   to    fathers    and   mothers,    to 

townsmen  and  landsmen,  you  shall  enter,  when 

your  body  is  dissolved,  the  happy  world  of 

Heaven." 

ft  ■&  ■sic  <fj  %fc 

The  roe  gave  birth  to  a  son  as  beautiful  as 
buds  of  flowers ;  and  he  went  to  playing  about 
with  the  Monkey  Deer's  herd.  But  when  its 
mother  saw  that,  she  said,  "My  son,  hence- 
forth go  not  in  his  company.  You  may  keep 
to  the  Banyan  Deer's  herd." 


136  EASTERN  STORIES 

Now  after  that,  the  deer,  secure  of  their 
lives,  began  to  eat  men's  crops.  And  the  men 
dared  not  strike  them  or  drive  them  away, 
recollecting  how  it  had  been  granted  to  them 
that  they  should  dwell  secure.  So  they  met 
together  in  front  of  the  King's  palace,  and 
told  the  matter  to  the  King. 

"When  I  was  well  pleased,  I  granted  to  the 
leader  of  the  Banyan  herd  a  boon,"  said  he. 
"I  may  give  up  my  kingdom  but  not  my  oaths ! 
Begone  with  you !  Not  a  man  in  my  kingdom 
shall  be  allowed  to  hurt  the  deer." 

When  the  Banyan  King  heard  that,  he  as- 
sembled his  herd,  and  said: 

"Henceforth  you  are  not  allowed  to  eat 
other  people's  crops."  And  so  forbidding 
them,  he  sent  a  message  to  the  men:  "Hence- 
forth let  the  husbandmen  put  up  no  fence  to 
guard  their  crops:  but  let  them  tie  leaves 
round  the  edge  of  the  field  as  a  sign." 

From  that  time,  they  say,  the  sign  of  the 
tying  of  the  leaves  was  seen  in  the  fields,  and 
from  that  time  not  a  single  deer  trespassed 
beyond  it:  for  such  was  the  instruction  they 


THE  BANYAN  DEER  137 

received    from     (their    King)    the    Bodisat. 
And  the  Bodisat  continued  thus  his  life  long 
to  instruct  the  deer,  and  passed  away  with 
his  herd,  according  to  his  deeds. 


THE  PUPIL  WHO  TAUGHT  HIS 
TEACHER 

(From  "Buddhitt  Birth  Storiet.") 


THE  PUPIL  WHO  TAUGHT  HIS 
TEACHER 

AND  the  Buddha  was  re-born  in  a  Brah- 
min family  and  was  known  as  Dhama- 
pala  or  Law  Keeper. 

When  he  came  of  age  he  was  sent  by  his 
father  to  study  with  a  world  famed  teacher 
at  Takasila  and  became  the  chief  pupil  in  a 
company  of  five  hundred  youths. 

At  that  time  the  eldest  son  of  the  teacher 
died  and  the  father,  surrounded  by  his  pupils, 
in  the  midst  of  his  kith  and  kin,  buried  his  son 
— and  all  the  pupils  wept  and  wailed,  but 
Dhamapala  was  silent  and  shed  no  tear,  but 
when  the  company  returned  from  the  cemetery 
Dhamapala  asked,  "Why  did  your  son  die? 
It  is  not  right  that  children  should  die;  only 
when  people  grow  old  can  this  happen."  And 
they  asked  him,  "Is  it  the  custom  of  your 
family  that  the  young  do  not  die?"  And  he 
said:  "Yes,  that  is  the  custom  in  my  family." 

141 


142  EASTERN  STORIES 

The  lads  told  this  conversation  to  their  teacher. 

Now  when  the  teacher  heard  this,  he  said 
to  them,  "That  is  a  most  marvelous  thing  that 
he  says.  I  will  make  a  journey  to  his  father 
and  ask  him  about  it,  and  if  it  be  true  I  will 
live  according  to  his  rule  of  right." 

And  he  said  to  the  young  man :  "I  am  going 
on  a  journey.  Do  thou,  in  my  absence,  in- 
struct these  youths." 

So  saying,  he  procured  the  bones  of  a  wild 
goat,  washed  and  scented  them,  and  put  them 
into  a  bag.  Then  taking  with  him  a  little  page 
boy  he  started  for  the  village  in  which  lived 
the  father  of  his  pupil. 

When  the  house  was  reached,  and  the 
teacher  had  rested  and  taken  food,  and  the 
host  had  washed  the  feet  of  his  guest,  the 
teacher  said:  "  Brahmin,  your  son  when  full 
of  wisdom  has  by  an  unhappy  chance  lost  his 
life.  Grieve  not  for  him."  The  Brahmin 
laughed  loudly.  "Why  do  you  laugh,  Brah- 
min?" asked  the  other.  "Because,"  he  said, 
"it  is  not  my  son  who  is  dead;  it  must  be  some 
other." 

"No,  Brahmin,  your  son  is  dead,  and  no 


A  PUPIL  WHO  TAUGHT  HIS  TEACHER    148 

other.  Look  on  his  bones,  and  believe."  So 
saying,  he  unwrapped  the  bones.  "There  are 
your  son's  bones,"  he  said. 

"A  wild  goat's  bones,  perhaps,"  quoth  the 
Brahmin,  "or  a  dog's,  but  my  son  is  not  dead. 
In  our  family  for  seven  generations,  no  such 
thing  has  been  known  as  a  death  in  tender 
years,  and  you  are  speaking  falsehood."  Then 
they  all  clapped  their  hands  and  laughed  aloud. 

The  teacher,  when  he  beheld  this  wonderful 
thing,  was  much  pleased  and  said:  "Brahmin, 
this  custom  in  your  family  line  cannot  be  with- 
out cause,  that  the  young  do  not  die.  Why  is 
it  that  you  do  not  die  young?  Of  what  good 
and  holy  deed  is  this  the  fruit?" 

Then  the  Brahmin  made  answer: 

"We  walk  in  righteousness.  We  speak  no 
ill.  We  flee  from  things  that  are  evil.  We 
take  no  heed  of  the  foolish.  We  follow  the 
counsel  of  the  wise.  We  delight  in  giving 
gifts.  We  feed  the  hungry.  We  are  faithful 
in  our  marriage  vows.  We  are  versed  in 
sacred  knowledge.  Therefore,  the  young 
amongst  us  never  die." 

On  hearing  this,  the  teacher  replied:     "A 


144  EASTERN  STORIES 

happy  journey  is  this  of  mine  and  fruitful.  I 
came  hither,  O  wise  Brahmin,  to  test  you. 
Your  son  is  safe  and  well.  I  pray  you  impart 
to  me  your  rule  of  preserving  life." 

Then  the  other  wrote  it  on  a  leaf  and  re- 
turned to  his  pupils. 


THE  MAN  WHO  TOLD  A  LIE 


THE  MAN  WHO  TOLD  A  LIE 

ON  one  occasion  four  divine  beings  made 
their  appearance  on  the  Earth  to  attend 
a  festival  of  the  Gods. 

And  they  bore  in  their  hands  wreaths  of 
the  strangest  flowers  that  had  ever  been  seen, 
and  those  around  asked:  "What  are  these 
flowers?"  And  the  Gods  made  answer  and 
said:  "These  divine  flowers  are  fit  for  those 
possessed  of  great  powers:  for  the  base,  the 
foolish,  the  faithless,  the  sinful  beings  within 
the  world  of  men,  they  are  not  fitted.  But, 
whosoever  amongst  men  is  endowed  with 
certain  virtues — to  them  is  due  the  honor  of 
wearing  these  flowers. 

"He  who  steals  no  thing  from  another, 

Who  uttereth  no  lie, 

Who    doth    not    lose    his    head    at    the 

height  of  Fame — 
He  may  wear  the  flowers." 

147 


148  EASTERN  STORIES 

Now  there  was  a  certain  false  Teacher  or 
Priest  who  thought  to  himself:  "I  do  not 
possess  one  of  these  qualities,  hut,  by  appear- 
ing to  possess  them,  I  shall  obtain  permission 
to  wear  the  wreaths,  and  the  people  will 
believe  that  I  really  am  what  I  appear  to  be, 
and  they  will  place  their  confidence  in  me." 

Then,  with  exceeding  boldness,  he  came  to 
the  first  of  the  Gods  and  exclaimed  with  great 
solemnity:  "Behold,  I  am  endowed  with  these 
qualities  of  which  you  speak — 

"I  have  stolen  from  no  man,  never  have  I 
uttered  a  lie,  nor  has  fame  ever  caused  me  to 
be  proud  or  haughty." 

And  when  he  had  uttered  these  words,  the 
wreath  was  placed  upon  his  brow.  And,  em- 
boldened by  his  success,  he  came  with  the  same 
pride  and  confidence  into  the  presence  of  the 
second  God,  and  asked  that  the  second  wreath 
should  be  bestowed  upon  him. 

And  the  God  said: 

"He    who    earns    wealth    honestly,    and 
shuns  dishonest  means, 


THE  MAN  WHO  TOLD  A  LIE  149 

Who  takes  but  sparingly  of  the  Cup  of 

Pleasure, 
To   him    shall   be    awarded   this   second 

wreath." 

And  the  false  Priest  bowed  his  head  and 
said:  "Behold  all  that  I  have  earned  is 
honestly  gotten,  and  all  pleasure  have  I 
shunned.    Give  me  the  wreath!" 

And  the  wreath  was  placed  upon  his 
brow. 

Then,  with  boldness  increased  by  his 
success,  he  approached  the  third  God,  and 
asked  that  the  third  wreath  should  encircle 
his  brow. 

And  the  God  said: 

"He  who  scorns  choice  food, 
Who  never  turneth  from  his  purpose, 
Who  keepeth  his  faith  unchanged, 
To  him  shall  be  given  the  wreath." 

And  the  false  Priest  said:  "I  have  ever  lived 
on  the  simplest  fare.    I  have  been  ever  stead- 


150  EASTERN  STORIES 

fast  of  purpose,  and  loyal  in  my  faith.  There- 
fore give  me  the  wreath." 

And  the  third  wreath  was  bestowed  upon 
him. 

Then  did  the  pride  of  the  false  Priest  know 
no  bounds,  and  he  went  hastily  to  the  fourth 
God  and  demanded  the  fourth  wreath. 

And  the  God  said : 

"He  who  will  attack  no  good  man  to  his 

face  or  behind  his  back, 
And  who  keeps  his  word  in  all  things, 
To  him  belongs  this  wreath." 

Then  the  false  Priest  cried  out  in  a  loud 
voice:  "I  have  attacked  no  man,  good  or  evil, 
and  never  have  I  broken  my  word  to  any." 

The  God  looked  at  him  sadly,  but  he  placed 
the  wreath  upon  his  brow,  and  the  four  divine 
beings  disappeared  from  the  sight  of  man.  But 
no  sooner  had  they  left  the  earth  than  the 
Priest  felt  a  violent  pain.  His  head  seemed  to 
be  crushed  by  spikes,  and,  writhing  in  agony, 
he  made  full  confession  and  begged  that  the 
flowers  should  be  removed  from  his  head;  but 


THE  MAN  WHO  TOLD  A  LIE  151 

though  all  pitied  his  condition,  none  could  re- 
move the  flowers,  for  they  seemed  to  he  fas- 
tened on  with  an  iron  band. 

And  he  called  aloud  to  the  Gods,  saying 
"O  ye  great  powers,  forgive  my  pride  and 
spare  my  life!"  And  they  answered:  "These 
flowers  are  not  meet  for  the  wicked.  You  have 
received  the  reward  of  your  false  words." 
Then,  having  rebuked  him  in  the  presence  of 
the  people,  they  removed  the  flowers  from  the 
head  of  the  repentant  man  and  returned  to 
the  abode  of  the  Blest. 


THE  CROW  THAT  THOUGHT  IT 
KNEW 


THE  CROW  THAT  THOUGHT  IT 
KNEW 

ONCE  upon  a  time,  while  Brahma-datta 
reigned  as  king  in  Benares,  the  Bod- 
hisatta  became  a  marsh  crow,  and  dwelt  by  a 
certain  pool.  His  name  was  Viraka,  the 
Strong. 

There  arose  a  famine  in  Kasi.  Men  could 
not  spare  food  for  the  crows,  nor  make  offer- 
ing to  goblins  and  snakes.  One  by  one  the 
crows  left  the  famine-stricken  land,  and  be- 
took them  to  the  woods. 

A  certain  crow  named  Savitthaka,  who 
lived  at  Benares,  took  with  him  his  lady  crow 
and  went  to  the  place  where  Viraka  lived, 
making  his  abode  beside  the  same  pool. 

One  day,  this  crow  was  seeking  food  about 
the  pool.  He  saw  how  Viraka  went  down  into 
it,  and  made  a  meal  off  some  fish;  and  after- 
wards came  up  out  of  the  water  again,  and 
stood  drying  his  feathers.     "Under  the  wing 

155 


156  EASTERN  STORIES 

of  that  crow,"  thought  he,  "plenty  of  fish  are 
to  be  got.  I  will  become  his  servant."  So  he 
drew  near. 

"What  is  it,  Sir?"  asked  Viraka. 

"I  want  to  be  your  servant,  my  Lord!"  was 
the  reply. 

Viraka  agreed,  and  from  that  time  the  other 
served  him.  And  from  that  time,  Viraka  used 
to  eat  enough  fish  to  keep  him  alive,  and  the 
rest  he  gave  to  Savitthaka  as  soon  as  he  had 
caught  them;  and  when  Savitthaka  had  eaten 
enough  to  keep  him  alive,  he  gave  what  was 
over  to  his  wife. 

After  a  while  pride  came  into  his  heart. 
"This  crow,"  said  he,  "is  black,  and  so  am  I: 
in  eyes  and  beak  and  feet,  too,  there  is  no 
difference  between  us.  I  don't  want  his  fish; 
I  will  catch  my  own!"  So  he  told  Viraka  that 
for  the  future  he  intended  to  go  down  to  the 
water  and  catch  fish  himself.  Then  Viraka 
said,  "Good  friend,  you  do  not  belong  to  a 
tribe  of  such  crows  as  are  born  to  go  into  water 
and  catch  fish.    Don't  destroy  yourself!" 

But  in  spite  of  this  attempt  to  dissuade  him, 
Savitthaka  did  not  take  the  warning  to  heart. 


THE  CROW  THAT  THOUGHT  IT  KNEW     157 

Down  he  went  to  the  pool,  into  the  water ;  but 
he  could  not  make  his  way  through  the  weeds 
and  come  out  again — there  he  was,  entangled 
in  the  weeds,  with  only  the  tip  of  his  beak 
appearing  above  the  water.  So  not  being  able 
to  breathe  he  perished  there  beneath  the  water. 
His  mate  noticed  that  he  did  not  return, 
and  went  to  Viraka  to  ask  news  of  him.  "My 
Lord,"  she  asked,  "Savitthaka  is  not  to  be  seen: 
where  is  he?"  And  as  she  asked  him  this,  she 
repeated  the  first  stanza: — 

"O  have  you  seen  Savitthaka,  O  Viraka, 

have  you  seen 
My  sweet-voiced  mate  whose  neck  is  like 

the  peacock  in  its  sheen?" 

When  Viraka  heard  it,  he  replied,  "Yes,  I 
know  where  he  is  gone,"  and  recited  the 
second  stanza: — 

"He  was  not  born  to  dive  beneath 
the  wave, 
But    what    he    could    not    do   he 
needs  must  try; 


158  EASTERN  STORIES 

So  the  poor  bird  has  found  a  watery- 
grave, 
Entangled  in  the  weeds,  and  left 
to  die." 

When  the  lady-crow  heard  it,  weeping,  she 
returned  to  Benares. 


THE  JUDAS  TREE 


THE  JUDAS  TREE 

ONCE  upon  a  time  Brahmadatta,  the  king 
of  Benares,  had  four  sons.  One  day  they 
sent  for  the  charioteer,  and  said  to  him : 

"We  want  to  see  a  Judas  tree;  show  us 
one!" 

"Very  well,  I  will,"  the  charioteer  replied. 
But  he  did  not  show  it  to  them  all  together. 
He  took  the  eldest  at  once  to  the  forest  in  the 
chariot,  and  showed  him  the  tree  at  the  time 
when  the  buds  were  just  sprouting  from  the 
stem.  To  the  second  he  showed  it  when  the 
leaves  were  green,  to  the  third  at  the  time 
of  blossoming,  and  to  the  fourth  when  it  was 
bearing  fruit. 

After  this  it  happened  that  the  four 
brothers  were  sitting  together,  and  some  one 
asked,  "What  sort  of  a  tree  is  the  Judas  tree  ?" 
Then  the  first  brother  answered : 

"Like  a  burnt  stump!" 

And  the  second  cried,  "Like  a  banyan  tree!" 

161 


162  EASTERN  STORIES 

And  the  third — "Like  a  piece  of  meatl" 
And  the  fourth  said,  "Like  the  acacia!" 
They  were  vexed  at  each  other's  answers, 
and  ran  to  find  their  father.    "My  Lord,"  they 
asked,  "what  sort  of  a  tree  is  the  Judas  tree?" 
"What  did  you  say  to  that?"  he  asked.  They 
told  him  the  manner  of  their  answers.     Said 
the  king: 

"All  four  of  you  have  seen  the  tree.  Only 
when  the  charioteer  showed  you  the  tree,  you 
did  not  ask  him,  'What  is  the  tree  like  at  such 
a  time?'  or  'at  such  another  time?'  You  made 
no  distinctions,  and  that  is  the  reason  for  your 
mistake."    And  he  repeated  the  first  stanza: — 

"All  have  seen  the  Judas  tree — 
What  is  your  perplexity? 
No  one  asked  the  charioteer 
What  its  form  the  livelong  year!" 


THE  RIVER  FISH  AND  THE 
MONEY 


THE  RIVER  FISH  AND  THE 
MONEY 

ONCE  upon  a  time,  when  Brahmadatta 
was  king  of  Benares,  the  Bodhisatta 
was  born  in  the  family  of  a  landed  proprietor. 
When  he  grew  up,  he  became  a  wealthy- 
man.  He  had  a  young  brother.  Afterwards 
their  father  died.  They  determined  to  arrange 
some  business  of  their  father's.  This  took 
them  to  a  village,  where  they  were  paid  a 
thousand  pieces  of  money.  On  their  way 
back,  as  they  waited  on  a  river-bank  for  the 
boat,  they  ate  a  meal  out  of  a  leaf -pottle.  The 
Bodhisatta  threw  what  he  left  into  the  Ganges 
for  the  fishes,  giving  the  merit  to  the  river- 
spirit.  The  spirit  accepted  this  with  gratifi- 
cation, which  increased  her  divine  power,  and 
on  thinking  over  this  increase  of  her  power, 
became  aware  what  had  happened.  The 
Bodhisatta  laid  his  upper  garment  upon  the 

165 


166  EASTERN  STORIES 

sand,  and  there  he  lay  down  and  went  to 
sleep. 

Now  the  young  brother  was  of  a  rather 
thievish  nature.  He  wanted  to  filch  the  money 
from  the  Bodhisatta  and  keep  it  himself;  so 
he  packed  a  parcel  of  gravel  to  look  like  the 
parcel  of  money,  and  put  them  both  away. 

When  they  had  got  aboard,  and  were  come 
to  mid-river,  the  younger  stumbled  against  the 
side  of  the  boat,  and  dropped  overboard  the 
parcel  of  gravel,  as  he  thought,  but  really  the 
money. 

"Brother,  the  money's  overboard!"  he 
cried.     "What's  to  be  done?" 

"What  can  we  do?  What's  gone  is  gone. 
Never  mind  about  it,"  replied  the  other. 

But  the  river-spirit  thought  how  pleased 
she  had  been  with  the  merit  she  had  received, 
and  how  her  divine  power  had  been  increased, 
and  resolved  to  take  care  of  his  property.  So 
by  her  power  she  made  a  big-mouthed  fish 
swallow  the  parcel,  and  took  care  of  it  herself. 

When  the  thief  got  home,  he  chuckled  over 
the  trick  he  had  served  his  brother,  and  undid 


THE  RIVER  FISH  AND  THE  MONEY     167 

the  remaining  parcel.  There  was  nothing  but 
gravel  to  be  seen !  His  heart  dried  up ;  he  fell 
on  his  bed,  and  clutched  the  bedstead. 

Now  some  fishermen  just  then  cast  their 
nets  for  a  draught.  By  power  of  the  river- 
spirit,  this  fish  fell  into  the  net.  The  fishers 
took  it  to  town  to  sell.  People  asked  what  the 
price  was. 

"A  thousand  pieces  and  seven  annas,"  said 
the  fishermen. 

Everybody  made  fun  of  them.  "We  have 
seen  a  fish  offered  for  a  thousand  pieces!"  they 
laughed. 

The  fishers  brought  their  fish  to  the  Bodhi- 
satta's  door,  and  asked  him  to  buy  it. 

"What's  the  price?"  he  asked. 

"You  may  have  it  for  seven  annas,"  they 
said. 

"What  did  you  ask  other  people  for  it?" 

"From  other  people  we  asked  a  thousand 
rupees  and  seven  annas;  but  you  may  have  it 
for  seven  annas,"  they  said. 

He  paid  seven  annas  for  it,  and  sent  it  to 
his  wife.    She  cut  it  open,  and  there  was  the 


168  EASTERN  STORIES 

parcel  of  money!  She  called  the  Bodhisatta. 
He  gave  a  look,  and  recognizing  his  mark, 
knew  it  for  his  own.  Thought  he,  "These 
fishers  asked  other  people  the  price  of  a 
thousand  rupees  and  seven  annas,  but  because 
the  thousand  rupees  were  mine,  they  let  me 
have  it  for  seven  annas  only!  If  a  man  does 
not  understand  the  meaning  of  this,  nothing 
will  ever  make  him  believe." 

When  he  had  said  this,  he  wondered  how 
it  was  that  he  had  recovered  his  money.  At 
the  moment  the  river-spirit  hovered  invisibly 
in  the  air,  and  declared — 

"I  am  the  Spirit  of  the  Ganges.  You  gave 
the  remains  of  your  meal  to  the  fishes,  and  let 
me  have  the  merit.  Therefore  I  have  taken 
care  of  your  property." 

Then  the  Spirit  told  about  the  mean  trick 
which  the  younger  brother  had  played.  Then 
she  added,  "There  he  lies,  with  his  heart  dried 
up  within  him.  There  is  no  prosperity  for  the 
cheat.  But  I  have  brought  you  your  own, 
and  I  warn  you  not  to  lose  it.  Don't  give 
it  to  your  young  thief  of  a  brother,  but  keep 
it  all  yourself." 


THE  RIVER  FISH  AND  THE  MONEY     169 

Thus  spoke  the  Spirit,  not  wishing  that  the 
treacherous  villain  should  receive  the  money. 
But  the  Bodhisatta  said,  "That  is  impossible," 
and  all  the  same  sent  the  brother  five  hundred. 


THE  DREAMER  IN  THE  WOOD 


THE  DREAMER  IN  THE  WOOD 

NOW  the  Buddha  once  upon  a  time  lived 
alone  in  the  woods,  in  the  ecstasy  of 
meditation.  For  wild  fruits  he  went  no  fur- 
ther afield.  When  fruit  grew  upon  the  tree, 
he  ate  the  fruit ;  in  time  of  flowers,  he  ate  flow- 
ers. When  the  leaves  grew,  he  ate  leaves. 
When  leaves  were  none,  he  ate  the  bark  of 
trees.  Thus,  in  the  highest  contentment  he 
lived  a  long  time  in  that  place. 

Now  on  a  day,  Sakka,  the  King  of  the  gods, 
appeared  before  him  and,  wishing  to  test  him, 
said:  "Behold  yon  man,  all  black  of  hue,  my 
spirit  likes  him  not." 

Now  by  his  divine  insight  the  Buddha  knew 
that  Sakka  spoke  to  him.  And  he  made  answer 
and  said: 

"Though  black  of  hue,  I  am  a  true  Brah- 
min. A  man  is  not  black  by  reason  of  his 
outer  skin;  only  can  sin  make  him  black." 
Thus  he  discoursed  to  Sakka,  and  it  was  as 
he  had  made  the  moon  to  rise  in  the  sky.    And 

173 


174  EASTERN  STORIES 

the  god  asked  him  what  boon  he  would  crave. 

And  the  Divine  being  asked  to  be  free  of 
three  things:  malice,  hatred  and  greed. 

Then  Sakka:  "What  is  bad  in  these 
things?"  And  Buddha  made  answer,  "Be- 
cause hatred  grows  from  small  to  great  and 
is  ever  full  of  bitterness.  Malice  brings  evil. 
First  word,  then  touch,  next  fist,  then  staff, 
and  last  the  swordstroke  flashing  free.  When 
men  are  urged  by  greed,  then  arise  fraud  and 
deceit  and  swift  pursuit  of  savage  loot " 

"Then,"  said  Sakka,  "choose  another  boon." 

Then  said  the  Buddha,  "Grant  that  in  the 
woods  where  I  live  alone,  no  disease  may  mar 
my  peace,  or  break  my  ecstasy." 

Then  said  Sakka,  "He  chooseth  no  thing 
connected  with  food."  And  he  granted  yet 
another  boon. 

And  the  Buddha  said,  "Let  no  creature  ever 
be  harmed  for  me  in  body  or  in  mind." 

And  Sakka  made  the  tree  bear  fruit  peren- 
nially, and  saluting  the  Buddha  by  touching 
his  head  with  joined  hands,  he  said: 

"Dwell  here  for  ever  free  from  disease," 
and  returned  to  his  throne. 


THE  RICE  MEASURE 


THE  RICE  MEASURE 

LON.G  ago,  Brahmadatta  was  king  in 
Benares,  in  the  land  of  Kasi.  At  that 
time  our  Bodisat  was  his  valuer.  He  valued 
both  horses,  elephants,  or  things  of  that  kind; 
and  jewelry,  gold,  or  things  of  that  kind;  and 
having  done  so,  he  used  to  have  the  proper 
price  for  the  goods  given  to  the  owners  thereof. 

Now  the  King  was  covetous.  And  in  his 
avarice  he  thought,  "If  this  valuer  estimates 
in  this  way,  it  will  not  be  long  before  all  the 
wealth  in  my  house  will  come  to  an  end.  I 
will  appoint  another  valuer." 

And  opening  his  window,  and  looking  out 
into  the  palace  yard,  he  saw  a  stupid  miserly 
peasant  crossing  the  yard.  Him  he  deter- 
mined to  make  his  valuer ;  and  sending  for  him, 
asked  if  he  would  undertake  the  office.  The 
man  said  he  could;  and  the  King,  with  the 
object  of  keeping  his  treasure  safer,  estab- 
lished that  fool  in  the  post  of  valuer. 

177 


178  EASTERN  STORIES 

Thenceforward  the  dullard  used  to  value 
the  horses  and  elephants,  paying  no  regard 
to  their  real  value,  but  deciding  just  as  he 
chose ;  and  since  he  had  been  appointed  to  the 
office,  as  he  decided,  so  the  price  was. 

Now  at  that  time  a  horse-dealer  brought 
five  hundred  horses  from  the  northern  prai- 
ries. The  King  sent  for  that  fellow,  and  had 
the  horses  valued.  And  he  valued  the  five 
hundred  horses  at  a  mere  measure  of  rice,  and 
straightway  ordered  the  horse-dealer  to  be 
given  the  measure  of  rice,  and  the  horses  to 
be  lodged  in  the  stable.  Then  the  horse- 
dealer  went  to  the  former  valuer,  and  told 
him  what  had  happened,  and  asked  him  what 
he  should  do. 

"Give  a  bribe  to  that  fellow,"  said  he,  "and 
ask  him  thus:  'We  know  now  that  so  many 
horses  of  ours  are  worth  a  measure  of  rice, 
but  we  want  to  know  from  you  what  a  measure 
of  rice  is  worth.  Can  you  value  it  for  us, 
standing  in  your  place  by  the  King?'  If  he 
says  he  can,  go  with  him  into  the  royal  pres- 
ence, and  I  will  be  there  too." 

The    horse-dealer    accepted    the    Bodisat's 


THE  RICE  MEASURE  179 

advice,  went  to  the  valuer,  and  bribed  him, 
and  gave  him  the  hint  suggested.  And  he 
took  the  bribe,  and  said,  "All  right!  I  can 
value  your  measure  of  rice  for  you." 

"Well,  then,  let  us  go  to  the  audience-hall," 
said  he;  and  taking  him  with  him,  went  into 
the  King's  presence.  And  the  Bodisat  and 
many  other  ministers  went  there  also. 

The  horse-dealer  bowed  down  before  the 
King,  and  said,  "I  acknowledge,  O  King,  that 
a  measure  of  rice  is  the  value  of  the  five 
hundred  horses;  but  will  the  King  be  pleased 
to  ask  the  valuer  what  the  value  of  the  measure 
of  rice  may  be?" 

The  King,  not  knowing  what  had  happened, 
asked,  "How  now,  valuer,  what  are  five  hun- 
dred horses  worth?" 

"A  measure  of  rice,  O  King!"  said  he. 

"Very  good,  then!  If  five  hundred  horses 
are  worth  only  a  measure  of  rice,  what  is  that 
measure  of  rice  worth?" 

"The  measure  of  rice  is  worth  all  Benares, 
both  within  and  without  the  walls,"  replied 
that  foolish  fellow. 

For  the  story  goes  that  he  first  valued  the 


180  EASTERN  STORIES 

horses  at  a  measure  of  rice  just  to  please  the 
King ;  and  then,  when  he  had  taken  the  dealer's 
bribe,  valued  that  measure  of  rice  at  the  whole 
of  Benares.  Now  at  that  time  the  circum- 
ference of  the  rampart  of  Benares  was  twelve 
leagues,  and  the  land  in  its  suburbs  was  three 
hundred  leagues  in  extent.  Yet  the  foolish 
fellow  estimated  that  so-great  city  of  Benares, 
together  with  all  its  suburbs,  at  a  measure  of 
rice! 

Hearing  this  the  ministers  clapped  their 
hands,  laughing,  and  saying,  "We  used  to 
think  the  broad  earth,  and  the  King's  realm, 
were  alike  beyond  price;  but  this  great  and 
famous  royal  city  is  worth,  by  his  account, 
just  a  measure  of  rice!  O  the  depth  of  the 
wisdom  of  the  valuer!  How  can  he  have 
stayed  so  long  in  office?  Truly  he  is  just 
suited  to  our  King!"  Thus  they  laughed  him 
to  scorn. 

Then  the  Bodisat  uttered  this  stanza: 

"What  is  a  measure  of  rice  worth? 
All  Benares  and  its  environs! 


THE  RICE  MEASURE  181 

And  what  are  five  hundred  horses 

worth? 
That  same  measure  of  ricel" 

Then  the  king  was  ashamed,  and  drove  out 
that  fool,  and  appointed  the  Bodisat  to  the 
office  of  valuer.  And  in  course  of  time  the 
Bodisat  passed  away  according  to  his  deeds. 


TELE  POISONOUS  TREES 


THE  POISONOUS  TREES 

ONCE  upon  a  time  when  Brahmadatta  was 
reigning  in  Benares,  the  Bodhisatta  was 
born  a  merchant.  When  he  grew  up,  and  was 
trading  with  five  hundred  wagons,  he  came 
one  day  to  where  the  road  led  through  a  great 
forest.  Halting  at  the  outskirts,  he  mustered 
the  caravan  and  addressed  them  thus: — 
"Poison-trees  grow  in  this  forest.  Take  heed 
that  you  taste  no  unfamiliar  leaf,  flower,  or 
fruit  without  first  consulting  me."  All  prom- 
ised to  take  every  care;  and  the  journey  into 
the  forest  began.  Now  just  within  the  forest- 
border  stands  a  village,  and  just  outside  that 
village  grows  a  What-fruit  tree.  That  What- 
fruit  tree  exactly  resembles  a  mango  alike  in 
trunk,  branch,  leaf,  flower,  and  fruit.  And 
not  only  in  outward  semblance,  but  also  in 
taste  and  smell,  the  fruit — ripe  and  unripe — 
mimics  the  mango.  If  eaten,  it  is  a  deadly 
poison,  and  causes  instant  death. 

185 


186  EASTERN  STORIES 

Now  some  greedy  fellows,  who  went  on 
ahead  of  the  caravan,  came  to  this  tree  and, 
taking  it  to  be  a  mango,  ate  of  its  fruit.  But 
others  said,  "Let  us  ask  our  leader  before  we 
eat" ;  and  they  accordingly  halted  by  the  tree, 
fruit  in  hand,  till  he  came  up.  Perceiving 
that  it  was  no  mango,  he  said: — "This  'mango' 
is  a  What-fruit  tree;  don't  touch  its  fruit." 

Having  stopped  them  from  eating,  the 
Bodhisatta  turned  his  attention  to  those  who 
had  already  eaten.  First  he  dosed  them  with 
an  emetic,  and  then  he  gave  them  the  four 
sweet  foods  to  eat;  so  that  in  the  end  they 
recovered. 

Now  on  former  occasions  caravans  had 
halted  beneath  this  same  tree,  and  had  died 
from  eating  the  poisonous  fruit  which  they 
mistook  for  mangoes.  On  the  morrow  the 
villagers  would  come,  and  seeing  them  lying 
there  dead,  would  fling  them  by  the  heels  into 
a  secret  place,  departing  with  all  the  belong- 
ings of  the  caravan,  wagons  and  all. 

And  on  the  day  too  of  our  story  these 
villagers  failed  not  to  hurry  at  daybreak  to 
the  tree  for  their  expected  spoils.    "The  oxen 


THE  POISONOUS  TREES  187 

must  be  ours,"  said  some.  "And  we'll  have 
the  wagons,"  said  others; — whilst  others 
again  claimed  the  wares  as  their  share.  But 
when  they  came  breathless  to  the  tree,  there 
was  the  whole  caravan  alive  and  well! 

"How  came  you  to  know  this  was  not  a 
mango  tree?"  demanded  the  disappointed  vil- 
lagers. "We  didn't  know,"  said  they  of  the 
caravan;  "it  was  our  leader  who  knew." 

So  the  villagers  came  to  the  Bodhisatta  and 
said,  "Man  of  wisdom,  what  did  you  do  to 
find  out  this  tree  was  not  a  mango?" 

"Two  things  told  me,"  replied  the  Bodhi- 
satta, and  he  repeated  this  stanza: — 

"When  near  a  village  grows  a  tree 
Not  hard  to  climb,  'tis  plain  to  me, 
Nor  need  I  further  proof  to  know, 
— No  wholesome  fruit  thereon  can  grow!" 

And  having  taught  the  Truth  to  the  as- 
sembled multitude,  he  finished  his  journey  in 
safety. 


THE  WELL-TRAINED   ELEPHANT 


THE  WELL-TRAINED  ELEPHANT 

ONCE  upon  a  time  when  King  Magadha 
was  ruling  in  Rajagaha  in  Magadha,  the 
Bodhisatta  was  born  an  elephant.  He  was 
white  all  over  and  graced  with  all  beauty. 
And  because  of  his  beauty  the  King  made  him 
his  state  elephant. 

One  festal  day  the  King  adorned  the  city 
like  a  city  of  the  devas  and,  mounted  on  the, 
elephant  in  all  its  trappings,  made  a  solemn 
procession  round  the  city  attended  by  a  great 
retinue.  And  all  along  the  route  the  people 
were  moved  by  the  sight  of  that  peerless  ele- 
phant to  exclaim,  "Oh,  what  a  stately  gait! 
what  proportions!  what  beauty!  what  grace! 
such  a  white  elephant  is  worthy  of  an  universal 
monarch."  All  this  praise  of  his  elephant 
awoke  the  King's  jealousy  and  he  resolved  to 
have  it  cast  over  a  precipice  and  killed.  So 
he  summoned  the  mahout  and  asked  whether 
he  called  that  a  trained  elephant. 

191 


192  EASTERN  STORIES 

"Indeed  he  is  well  trained,  Sire,"  said  the 
mahout.  "No,  he  is  very  badly  trained." 
"Sire,  he  is  well  trained."  "If  he  is  so  well 
trained,  can  you  get  him  to  climb  to  the  sum- 
mit of  Mount  Vepulla?"  "Yes,  Sire."  "Away 
with  you,  then,"  said  the  King.  And  he  got 
down  from  the  elephant,  making  the  mahout 
mount  instead,  and  went  himself  to  the  foot 
of  the  mountain,  whilst  the  mahout  rode  on 
the  elephant's  back  up  to  the  top  of  Mount 
Vepulla.  The  King  with  his  courtiers  also 
climbed  the  mountain,  and  had  the  elephant 
halted  at  the  brink  of  a  precipice.  "Now," 
said  he  to  the  man,  "if  he  is  so  well  trained  as 
you  say,  make  him  stand  on  three  legs." 

And  the  mahout  on  the  elephant's  back  just 
touched  the  animal  with  his  goad  by  way  of 
sign  and  called  to  him,  "Hi!  my  beauty,  stand 
on  three  legs."  "Now  make  him  stand  on  his 
two  fore-legs,"  said  the  King.  And  the  Great 
Being  raised  his  hind-legs  and  stood  on  his 
fore-legs  alone.  "Now  on  the  hind-legs,"  said 
the  King,  and  the  obedient  elephant  raised  his 
fore-legs  till  he  stood  on  his  hind-legs  alone. 


THE  WELL-TRAINED  ELEPHANT        193 

"Now  on  one  leg,"  said  the  King,  and  the  ele- 
phant stood  on  one  leg. 

Seeing  that  the  elephant  did  not  fall  over 
the  precipice,  the  King  cried,  "Now  if  you  can, 
make  him  stand  in  the  air.'* 

Then  thought  the  mahout  to  himself,  "All 
India  cannot  show  the  match  of  this  elephant 
for  excellence  of  training.  Surely  the  King 
must  want  to  make  him  tumble  over  the  preci- 
pice and  meet  his  death."  So  he  whispered 
in  the  elephant's  ear,  "My  son,  the  King  wants 
you  to  fall  over  and  get  killed.  He  is  not 
worthy  of  you.  If  you  have  power  to  journey 
through  the  air,  rise  up  with  me  upon  your 
back  and  fly  through  the  air  to  Benares." 

And  the  Great  Being,  endowed  as  he  was 
with  the  marvelous  powers  which  flow  from 
Merit,  straightway  rose  up  into  the  air.  Then 
said  the  mahout,  "Sire,  this  elephant,  pos- 
sessed as  he  is  with  the  marvelous  powers 
which  flow  from  Merit,  is  too  good  for  such  a 
worthless  fool  as  you:  none  but  a  wise  and 
good  King  is  worthy  to  be  his  master.  When 
those  who  are  so  worthless  as  you  get  an  ele- 


194  EASTERN  STORIES 

phant  like  this,  they  don't  know  his  value,  and 
so  they  lose  their  elephant,  and  all  the  rest  of 
their  glory  and  splendor."  So  saying  the 
mahout,  seated  on  the  elephant's  neck,  recited 
this  stanza: — 

"Exalted  station  breeds  a  fool  great  woe; 
He  proves  his  own  and  others'  mortal  foe." 

"And  now,  good-by,"  said  he  to  the  King 
as  he  ended  this  rebuke ;  and  rising  in  the  air, 
he  passed  to  Benares  and  halted  in  mid-air, 
over  the  royal  courtyard.  And  there  was  a 
great  stir  in  the  city  and  all  cried  out,  "Look 
at  the  state-elephant  that  has  come  through 
the  air  for  our  King  and  is  hovering  over  the 
royal  courtyard."  And  with  all  haste  the  news 
was  conveyed  to  the  King,  too,  who  came  out 
and  said,  "If  your  coming  is  for  my  behoof, 
alight  on  the  earth."  And  the  Bodhisatta 
descended  from  the  air.  Then  the  mahout  got 
down  and  bowed  before  the  King,  and  in  an- 
swer to  the  King's  enquiries  told  the  whole 
story  of  their  leaving  Rajagaha.  "It  was  very 
good  of  you,"  said  the  King,  "to  come  here"; 


THE  WELL-TRAINED  ELEPHANT        193 

and  in  his  joy  he  had  the  city  decorated  and 
the  elephant  installed  in  his  state-stable.  Then 
he  divided  his  kingdom  into  three  portions, 
and  made  over  one  to  the  Bodhisatta,  one  to 
the  mahout,  and  one  he  kept  himself.  And 
his  power  grew  from  the  day  of  the  Bodi- 
satta's  coming  till  all  India  owned  his 
sovereign  sway.  As  Emperor  of  India,  he 
was  charitable  and  did  other  good  works  till 
he  passed  away  to  fare  according  to  his  deserts. 


THE  WISE  PHYSICIAN 


THE  WISE  PHYSICIAN 

KISAGOTAMI  is  the  name  of  a  young 
girl,  whose  marriage  with  the  only  son 
of  a  wealthy  man  was  brought  about  in  true 
fairy-tale  fashion.  She  had  one  child,  but 
when  the  beautiful  boy  could  run  alone,  it  died. 
The  young  girl  in  her  love  for  it  carried 
the  dead  child  clasped  to  her  bosom,  and  went 
from  house  to  house  of  her  pitying  friends 
asking  them  to  give  her  medicine  for  it.  But 
a  Buddhist  mendicant,  thinking,  "She  does 
not  understand,"  said  to  her:  "My  good  girl, 
I  myself  have  no  such  medicine  as  you  ask 
for,  but  I  think  I  know  of  one  who  has."  "Oh, 
tell  me  who  that  is!"  said  Kisagotami.  "The 
Buddha  can  give  you  medicine:  go  to  him," 
was  the  answer. 

She  went  to  Gautama,  and  doing  homage 
to  him,  said:  "Lord  and  Master,  do  you  know 
any  medicine  that  will  be  good  for  my  child?" 

"Yes,  I  know  of  some,"  said  the  Teacher. 

199 


200  EASTERN  STORIES 

Now  it  was  the  custom  for  patients  or  their 
friends  to  provide  the  herbs  which  the  doctors 
required,  so  she  asked  what  herbs  he  would 
want.  "I  want  some  mustard-seed,"  he  said; 
and  when  the  poor  girl  eagerly  promised  to 
bring  some  of  so  common  a  drug,  he  added: 
"You  must  get  it  from  some  house  where 
no  son,  or  husband,  or  parent,  or  slave  has 
died."  "Very  good,"  she  said,  and  went  to 
ask  for  it,  still  carrying  her  dead  child  with 
her.  The  people  said:  "Here  is  mustard-seed, 
take  it."  But  when  she  asked,  "In  my  friend's 
house  has  any  son  died,  or  a  husband,  or  a 
parent,  or  slave?"  they  answered:  "Lady! 
what  is  this  that  thou  sayest;  the  living  are 
few,  but  the  dead  are  many."  Then  she  went 
to  other  houses,  but  one  said:  "I  have  lost 
a  son";  another,  "We  have  lost  our  parents"; 
another,  "I  have  lost  my  slave." 

At  last,  not  being  able  to  find  a  single 
house  where  no  one  had  died,  her  mind  began 
to  clear,  and,  summoning  up  resolution,  she 
left  the  dead  body  of  her  child  in  a  forest, 
and  returning  to  the  Buddha  paid  him  homage. 
He  said   to  her:   "Have   you   the   mustard- 


THE  WISE  PHYSICIAN  201 

seed?"  "My  Lord,"  she  replied,  "  I  have  not; 
the  people  tell  me  that  the  living  are  few,  but 
the  dead  are  many."  Then  he  talked  to  her 
on  that  essential  part  of  his  system — the 
impermanency  of  all  things,  till  her  doubts 
were  cleared  away,  and,  accepting  her  lot,  she 
became  a  disciple  and  entered  the  first  Path. 

The  following  lines,  ascribed  to  some  of  her  Sisters 
in  the  Order  and  given  in  the  Psalms   (translated  by 
Mrs.  Rhys  Davids),  would  apply  to  Kisagotami: — 
"Lo !  from  my  heart  the  hidden  shaft  is  gone, 
The  shaft  that  nestled  there  hath  he  removed; 
And  that  consuming  grief  for  my  dear  child, 
Which  poisoned  all  the  life  of  me,  is  dead. 
To-day  my  heart  is  healed,  my  yearning  stayed, 
Perfected  the  deliverance  wrought  in  me." 


NOTES  FOR  TEACHERS 

The  following  notes  are  intended  for  teachers  who 
may  wish  to  use  this  collection  as  a  class  text  book. 
In  all  these  stories  we  have  the  idea  of  the  Indian  God 
in  various  re-incarnations  until  he  has  attained  full 
Buddhahood.  Beyond  occasionally  mentioning  the  fact 
of  Re-birth  in  introducing  the  story  (so  as  to  preserve 
the  Oriental  flavor)  I  do  not  insist  on  this,  nor  do  I 
introduce  the  name  of  the  Buddha  into  the  actual  table 
of  contents  at  the  beginning  of  the  book,  as  it  might 
seem  abstruse  to  the  younger  readers.  But  because  I 
wish  to  appeal  to  scholars  in  the  higher  sense  as  well  as 
to  boys  and  girls,  I  have  tried  in  many  instances  to 
preserve  the  language  as  given  in  the  translation  from 
the  Pali.  I  have  also  tried  to  avoid  cutting  out  any 
important  episodes ;  this  sometimes  happens  in  the  popu- 
lar adaptation  of  these  deeply  ethical  stories.  I  have 
tried  to  keep  as  far  as  possible  the  Eastern  point  of 
view,  since  the  book  is  sponsored  by  one  of  the  foremost 
of  Oriental  Scholars,  Dr.  Rhys  Davids,  who  has  helped 
me  with  his  advice,  and  taught  me  the  spirit  of  the 
whole  conception. 

THE  HARE  THAT  RAN  AWAY 

This  is  the  only  story  I  have  completely  re-adapted 
for  quite  small  children,  and  I  have  found  it  among  the 

203 


204  EASTERN  STORIES 

most  popular.  I  often  tell  it  in  connection  with  Hans 
C.  Andersen's  story  of  the  "Scandal  in  the  Poultry 
Yard,"  of  which  the  subject  is  practically  the  same: 
the  first  being  simple  and  direct,  the  second  veiled  in 
gentle  satire. 

THE   MONKEY  AND   THE   CROCODILE 

I  include  this  story  because  of  the  lighter  side  and 
because  we  cannot  hide  from  our  boys  and  girls  that 
craft  does  enter  into  the  question  of  success  as  the  world 
understands  it.  It  is,  however,  in  my  mind  where  the 
Buddha  is  not  at  his  highest  level.  Perhaps  the  less 
this  story  is  explained  the  better. 

THE  SPIRIT  THAT  LIVED  IN  A  TREE 

This  story  I  consider  to  be  one  of  the  most  beautiful 
in  the  collection.  We  cannot  baldly  appeal  to  the  chil- 
dren to  think  "of  the  next  generation,"  but  this  wonder- 
ful picture  must  fire  their  imagination  where  the  ordi- 
nary didactic  appeal  might  fail. 

THE  HARE  THAT  WAS  NOT  AFRAID  TO  DIE 

In  this  story  it  may  be  necessary  to  make  a  few  words 
of  comment  on  the  point  of  view  of  the  Buddha  which 
might  not  be  quite  intelligible  to  the  child.  The  fact, 
that  though  he  was  ready  to  sacrifice  his  own  body  he 
had  a  care  for  the  tiny  insects  which  might  perish  with 
him,  has  much  significance  in  the  story  scheme.  It 
shows  not  only  the  letter  of  the  law  but  the  spirit  of  the 


NOTES  FOR  TEACHERS  205 

love  which  prompted  him  to  act,  and  represents  one  of 
the  principal  tenets  of  the  Buddhist  Faith.  The  whole 
story  is  somewhat  remote  from  modern  life,  but  I  have 
found  it  of  great  interest  to  children  of  different  ages, 
most  especially  at  the  time  when  Fast  Days  were 
called  for. 

THE  PARROT  THAT  FED  HIS  PARENTS 

The  dramatic  interest  of  this  story  appeals  to  all 
ages.  I  have  found  quite  young  children  enthralled  by 
the  adventures  of  the  parrot.  I  take  exception  to  the 
lack  of  poetic  justice  in  the  kinsfolk  sharing  the  par- 
rot's reward — but  it  was  necessary  to  the  Buddha's  hap- 
piness, and  if  children  should  raise  the  question,  I 
should  explain  it  on  that  ground, 

THE  MAN  WHO  WORKED  TO  GIVE  ALMS 

The  method  of  alms-giving  may  not  appeal  to  modern 
feeling,  but  the  spirit  in  which  the  gifts  were  made 
rises  to  wonderful  heights,  and  the  deeds  are  sanctified 
by  the  self-sacrifice  which  brings  them  about.  In  tell- 
ing this  story  to  groups  of  boys  and  girls  accustomed 
to  the  warnings  of  charity  organizations,  the  different 
conditions  in  the  East  might  be  mentioned. 

We  have  here  the  same  idea  as  in  the  story  of  the 
King  who  gave  his  eyes.  This  story  seems  to  lead  up 
to  the  other,  in  which  the  sacrifice  is  so  much  greater. 

THE   KING  WHO  SAW  THE  TRUTH 

This  story  may  seem  at  first  to  be  above  the  plane 
of  the  young  child.     I  have  eliminated  all  the  physical 


206  EASTERN  STORIES 

suffering,  because  it  is  not  necessary  to  bring  out  the 
real  meaning  of  the  story.  Older  children  (whether  in 
years  or  understanding)  will  be  able  to  appreciate  the 
beauty  of  the  sacrifice  and  the  exceeding  greatness  of 
the  reward. 

THE  BULL  THAT  DEMANDED  FAIR 
TREATMENT 

The  fact  that  the  Buddha  insists  on  a  fair  wage,  not 
from  selfish  greed  but  for  the  sake  of  his  employer,  lifts 
the  story  from  the  realm  of  the  commonplace  which  the 
subject  might  suggest. 

THE   BULL  THAT   PROVED   HIS  GRATITUDE 

An  excellent  illustration  for  children  of  the  necessity 
of  kindness  to  animals,  not  only  from  the  merciful 
point  of  view,  but  from  the  practical  question  of  ensur- 
ing good  work. 

THE  HORSE  THAT  HELD  OUT  TO  THE  END 

The  children  will  be  much  impressed  by  the  courage 
of  the  horse,  and  the  power  of  will  he  shows  in  accom- 
plishing the  task  he  has  set  himself.  It  is  the  spirit  of 
the  soldier  at  its  best  and  might  be  cited  as  displayed 
during  the  Great  War  by  individuals  from  all  nations. 

THE  MONKEY  THAT  SAVED  THE  HERD 

This  is  one  of  the  most  practical  stories  in  the  collec- 
tion, showing  that  for  success  in  leadership  it  is  neces- 


NOTES  FOR  TEACHERS  207 

sary  to  have  a  quiet  mind,  a  great  deal  of  knowledge, 
and  a  firm  belief  in  success.  This  is  the  way  ogres  are 
outwitted.  The  frank  laying  down  of  his  cards,  his 
open  declaration  of  his  plans  to  the  enemy,  present  the 
Bodisat  at  his  best. 

There  is  an  unconscious  note  of  humor  in  this  tale, 
in  presenting  a  monkey  as  possessed  of  such  complete 
self-control  as  to  be  able  to  bring  about  so  great  a 
miracle,  but  if  any  explanation  is  offered  in  the  telling 
of  these  tales,  it  should  be  that,  whatever  the  outward 
form,  the  Buddha  preserves  the  attribute  of  a  god. 

THE  MALLARD  THAT  ASKED  FOR  TOO  MUCH 

Origin  of  the  "Goose  that  laid  the  Golden  Eggs"; 
Pali  word  for  golden  goose  is  Hansa,  whence  Gans, 
goose. 

THE  MERCHANT  WHO  OVERCAME  ALL 
OBSTACLES 

For  encouraging  a  spirit  of  enterprise,  and  courage 
under  difficulties,  this  is  an  admirable  story.  I  think 
both  boys  and  girls  will  apply  it  (unconsciously)  in 
their  everyday  undertakings,  but  this  will  depend  largely 
on  the  manner  in  which  it  is  told:  it  must  appeal  to 
the  imagination  through  the  dramatic  presentation. 

THE    ELEPHANT    THAT    WAS    HONORED    IN 
OLD  AGE 

A  splendid  example  of  the  honor  we  ought  to  show 
to  those  old  people  in  the  community  who  have  done 


208  EASTERN  STORIES 

really  good  work.    This  story  might  be  taken  in  connec- 
tion with  stories  from  history  illustrating  the  same  point. 

THE    FAITHFUL   FRIEND 

A  story  which  will  encourage  children's  interest  in 
animals  and  their  characteristics,  and  will  increase  their 
interest  in  observing  the  ways  of  those  animals  under 
their  care. 

THE   HAWK  AND   THE   OSPREY 

This  story  should  be  told  as  dramatically  as  possible, 
because  it  is  full  of  action  and  will  hold  the  children 
quite  breathless.  The  little  touch  of  the  lion  objecting 
at  first  to  be  roused  at  an  unreasonable  hour  is  delight- 
fully human,  and  the  fact  that  when  he  realizes  the 
necessity  he  is  ready  to  help,  is  worthy  of  his  high  posi- 
tion among  the  animals. 

GRANDMOTHER'S  GOLDEN  DISH 

This  story  is  specially  useful  because  since  rogues 
are  so  often  successful  in  the  ordinary  sense,  and  we 
are  bound  to  admit  this  ordinary  success,  it  is  well 
that  a  graphic  description  of  the  triumph  of  honesty - 
should  be  presented  to  children  which  will  at  once  ap- 
peal to  their  sense  of  fairness. 

THE  ELEPHANT  THAT  SPARED  LIFE 

This  may  seem  a  little  too  lofty  for  the  children,  but 
I  think  it  well  to  include  a  few  stories  where  the  stand- 


NOTES  FOR  TEACHERS  209 

ard  may  seem  too  high  and  the  action  quixotic.  In  later 
years  they  will  realize  the  philosophy  of  the  story,  but 
the  dramatic  interest  will  appeal  at  once. 

HOW  THE  ANTELOPE  WAS  CAUGHT 

This  is  an  admirable  treatise  on  the  relative  value  of 
things  which  children  are  quick  to  see.  It  should  be  told 
with  increasing  dramatic  force  up  to  the  final  run  of  the 
foolish  antelope  who  has  sacrificed  his  liberty  to  bis 
greed. 

THE    BANYAN   DEER 

This  is  one  of  the  most  beautiful  of  all  the  Jataka 
stories.  I  have  given  the  whole  as  translated  from  the 
Buddhist  Birth  Stories,  only  leaving  out  parts  of  the 
description.  Any  curtailed  edition  of  the  action  of  this 
story,  leaving  out  the  tenderness  of  the  Bodisat  for  the 
deer  that  is  "with  young,"  robs  the  story  of  its  most 
beautiful  meaning. 

THE  PUPIL  WHO  TAUGHT  HIS  TEACHER 

This  is  a  healthy  idea  and  one  which  should  commend 
itself  to  the  young  who  are  naturally  averse  to  the  idea 
of  Death.  It  is  the  opposite  of  the  idea:  Whom  the 
gods  love,  die  young. 

THE   MAN   WHO  TOLD  A  LIE 

In  this  story,  if  it  is  considered  injudicious  to  tell 
children  of  the  hypocrisy  of  the  teacher  and  the  priest, 


210  EASTERN  STORIES 

the  title  of  the  man  could  be  left  out.  For  my  part,  and 
from  experience  as  a  teacher,  I  have  always  found  it 
wise  to  admit  and  condemn  the  same  faults  in  teachers 
and  preachers  as  in  the  laity,  but  to  point  out  to  the 
children  that  those  same  faults  are  the  more  reprehen- 
sible because  of  the  profession  which  is  degraded  by 
such  people  as  the  false  priest. 

THE  CROW  THAT  THOUGHT  IT  KNEW 

This  story  shows  the  power  of  the  skilled  workman. 
The  one  who  was  not  skilled  thought  he  could  do  more 
than  he  had  the  power  to  do,  and  came  to  grief. 

THE  JUDAS  TREE 

The  point  of  this  story  is  the  impossibility  of  a  just 
judgment  without  full  knowledge  of  your  subject.  Each 
one  has  only  a  partial  knowledge  and  is  therefore  ex- 
cluded from  the  knowledge  of  the  whole. 

THE   RIVER  FISH  AND  THE  MONEY 

The  power  of  honesty  restores  the  lost  treasure.  The 
Bodisatta  is  not  anxious  about  it,  preserves  his  calm,  and 
recovers  it.  Observe  the  way  in  which  he  keeps  only  the 
money  which  belongs  to  him,  refusing  to  withhold  it  from 
the  dishonest  man. 

THE  DREAMER  IN  THE  WOOD 

I  have  hesitated  to  include  this  story  as  beyond  the 
range  of  children  but  I  leave  it  for  the  abnormal  child 
who  may  value  the  joy  of  solitude. 


NOTES  FOR  TEACHERS  211 

THE    RICE    MEASURE 

The  King  falls  easily  into  the  trap  that  is  laid  for 
him.  His  craving  for  greed  leads  him  to  appoint  a  fool 
and  the  fool  leads  to  his  failure. 

THE  POISONOUS  TREES 

Here  we  have  the  skill  of  knowledge.  The  Bodisatta 
knows  how  to  distinguish  the  mango  tree  from  the  What- 
fruit  tree,  and  to  save  the  life  of  those  who  had  eaten 
therefrom. 

THE    WELL-TRAINED    ELEPHANT 

Here  we  have  the  Bodisatta  ready  to  do  the  miracle 
that  he  may  convince  the  King  that  he  is  unworthy  to 
possess  him.  The  whole  picture  is  very  striking  and  the 
story  lends  itself  to  dramatic  effect. 

THE  WISE  PHYSICIAN 

I  am  indebted  to  Sir  Robert  Morant,  K.C.B.,  who  has 
kindly  been  interested  in  the  preparation  of  my  book 
as  a  whole,  for  the  suggestion  that  I  should  include  this 
story  (although  it  is  not  one  of  the  series  of  Buddha 
Re-Birth  Stories  to  which  all  the  others  belong),  also 
for  the  reminder  of  this  special  version — namely,  the 
woman's  own  recognition,  through  her  personal  experi- 
ence, of  the  impermanence  of  those  things  which  seem 
to  be  lasting. 

I  should  not  suggest  this  story  as  one  which  would 
appeal  to  children.     I  have  included  it  for  "children  of 


212  EASTERN  STORIES 

larger  growth"  as  embodying  one  of  the  important  tenets 
of  the  Buddhist  Faith,  and  as  showing  how  personal 
grief  may  be  assuaged  in  gaining  sympathy  with  the 
sorrow  of  others. 


